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RAMS WANTED ZGONINA FOR GORDON
A league source tells us that the St. Louis Rams initially wanted defensive tackle Jeff Zgonina in lieu of the third-round draft pick they received when they shipped running back Lamar Gordon to the Miami Dolphins.
Per the source, the Dolphins refused -- and the Rams didn't persist.
Given that the Rams are looking for help at the defensive tackle position and that the Dolphins were desperate to prop up their running game, it seems odd to us that the Rams didn't insist on bringing back Zgonina, who was still a defensive team captain for the Rams even as he was landing a better financial offer on the open market. The Fins, after all, recently added Bryan Robinson, who'll play on the inside, so the loss of Zgonina wouldn't have been so damaging.
Also, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch questions why the Rams settled only for the third-rounder in exchange for Gordon, especially since the Rams had some leverage in the discussions.
It works like this. The Dolphins need a running back badly. The Rams have an extra running back. So the price tag goes up.
(Perhaps the simplicity of that approach is beneath a guy like Mike Martz, who isn't thinking at all unless he's thinking 27 levels deep.)
Martz dubbed the trade "risky" and admitted to feeling "nervous" about sending Gordon, a 2002 third-rounder who has played well when Marshall Faulk couldn't go. Sure, they now have Faulk and first-rounder Steven Jackson, but an early injury to either of them will have bigger consequences without Gordon around.
And if Martz was nervous about shipping Gordon to Miami in exchange for the same pick with which he was drafted, why not ask for more? If, as we've suggested, Martz is on the hot seat this year in St. Louis, why not insist at a minimum on someone who can help improve the team now. That third-round pick won't do Martz any good if he's the offensive coordinator in San Diego next season (but it might help Miami coach Dave Wannstedt, of course, if he's the defensive coordinator with the Rams come April 2005).
For the Fins, then, it appears to have been a good deal. Word around the league is that they were hell bent on using the third-rounder they got in addition to Marty Booker for defensive end Adewale Ogunleye to get a running back. We're hearing that the Fins actually tried to send the third-rounder back to Chicago for running back Anthony Thomas, but the Bears declined.
Even if Gordon was the second choice, the Fins finally got their guy. In the end, the Ogunleye trade yielded replacements for the two major offseason losses -- Ricky Williams and David Boston -- both of which seemingly came too late to address this year. So now the expectations in Miami are reduced, and we now wouldn't be surprised to see the Fins come out of the darkness of July and August with a banner year.
As for the Rams, well, they won the Super Bowl five years ago. That still counts for something, doesn't it?
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RAMS BLASTED FOR SIGNING SEHORN
Reaction around the league to the decision of the Rams to re-sign defensive back Jason Sehorn to a one-year deal has been swift, and harsh.
"Are you sh-tting me?" said one league insider after being informed of the possible acquisition. "There are guys on the street who are much better than this stiff."
Sehorn says that the delayed signing was the specific result of his desire to avoid training camp. "I wasn't going to training camp," he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I'm not pushing my luck. Unfortunately for me, three of my major injuries have all happened in training camp."
Sehorn blames a lackluster performance in 2003 on a foot injury suffered during training camp -- an injury that didn't heal during the season.
"I could never do anything," he said. "I couldn't go left or right. I couldn't dig. It's kind of frustrating. But at that point, you want to play. So you're constantly fighting -- I felt like salmon swimming against the stream. It's not the fun way to swim."
So his new way to swim is to jump into the water as late as possible in order to still get paid. Curiously, the Rams have signed him before the season opener, which means that his $760,000 salary will be guaranteed. They could have (i.e., should have) waited until after Sunday to sign him, in the event that he doesn't work out. Then, they wouldn't have been on the hook for his full salary.
Then again, as a 10-year veteran, he costs only $450,000 in cap dollars and real dollars.
Sehorn still needs to pass a physical in order to make the team, and passing a physical is no gimme for a guy who has been gimpy for most of the past several years.
A league source tells us that the St. Louis Rams initially wanted defensive tackle Jeff Zgonina in lieu of the third-round draft pick they received when they shipped running back Lamar Gordon to the Miami Dolphins.
Per the source, the Dolphins refused -- and the Rams didn't persist.
Given that the Rams are looking for help at the defensive tackle position and that the Dolphins were desperate to prop up their running game, it seems odd to us that the Rams didn't insist on bringing back Zgonina, who was still a defensive team captain for the Rams even as he was landing a better financial offer on the open market. The Fins, after all, recently added Bryan Robinson, who'll play on the inside, so the loss of Zgonina wouldn't have been so damaging.
Also, Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch questions why the Rams settled only for the third-rounder in exchange for Gordon, especially since the Rams had some leverage in the discussions.
It works like this. The Dolphins need a running back badly. The Rams have an extra running back. So the price tag goes up.
(Perhaps the simplicity of that approach is beneath a guy like Mike Martz, who isn't thinking at all unless he's thinking 27 levels deep.)
Martz dubbed the trade "risky" and admitted to feeling "nervous" about sending Gordon, a 2002 third-rounder who has played well when Marshall Faulk couldn't go. Sure, they now have Faulk and first-rounder Steven Jackson, but an early injury to either of them will have bigger consequences without Gordon around.
And if Martz was nervous about shipping Gordon to Miami in exchange for the same pick with which he was drafted, why not ask for more? If, as we've suggested, Martz is on the hot seat this year in St. Louis, why not insist at a minimum on someone who can help improve the team now. That third-round pick won't do Martz any good if he's the offensive coordinator in San Diego next season (but it might help Miami coach Dave Wannstedt, of course, if he's the defensive coordinator with the Rams come April 2005).
For the Fins, then, it appears to have been a good deal. Word around the league is that they were hell bent on using the third-rounder they got in addition to Marty Booker for defensive end Adewale Ogunleye to get a running back. We're hearing that the Fins actually tried to send the third-rounder back to Chicago for running back Anthony Thomas, but the Bears declined.
Even if Gordon was the second choice, the Fins finally got their guy. In the end, the Ogunleye trade yielded replacements for the two major offseason losses -- Ricky Williams and David Boston -- both of which seemingly came too late to address this year. So now the expectations in Miami are reduced, and we now wouldn't be surprised to see the Fins come out of the darkness of July and August with a banner year.
As for the Rams, well, they won the Super Bowl five years ago. That still counts for something, doesn't it?
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RAMS BLASTED FOR SIGNING SEHORN
Reaction around the league to the decision of the Rams to re-sign defensive back Jason Sehorn to a one-year deal has been swift, and harsh.
"Are you sh-tting me?" said one league insider after being informed of the possible acquisition. "There are guys on the street who are much better than this stiff."
Sehorn says that the delayed signing was the specific result of his desire to avoid training camp. "I wasn't going to training camp," he told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I'm not pushing my luck. Unfortunately for me, three of my major injuries have all happened in training camp."
Sehorn blames a lackluster performance in 2003 on a foot injury suffered during training camp -- an injury that didn't heal during the season.
"I could never do anything," he said. "I couldn't go left or right. I couldn't dig. It's kind of frustrating. But at that point, you want to play. So you're constantly fighting -- I felt like salmon swimming against the stream. It's not the fun way to swim."
So his new way to swim is to jump into the water as late as possible in order to still get paid. Curiously, the Rams have signed him before the season opener, which means that his $760,000 salary will be guaranteed. They could have (i.e., should have) waited until after Sunday to sign him, in the event that he doesn't work out. Then, they wouldn't have been on the hook for his full salary.
Then again, as a 10-year veteran, he costs only $450,000 in cap dollars and real dollars.
Sehorn still needs to pass a physical in order to make the team, and passing a physical is no gimme for a guy who has been gimpy for most of the past several years.
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