Az 2

Ok, after hearing all the voices after sunday's game, i know a lot of people changed their votes so i'm gonna do it again for this week...Voice your opinions...

[Mr.Blond]

The reason i want him resigned is as a 3rd-4th receiver, but never again as a punt returner. He's fast and gets open, but NO MORE him as a kickreturner, EVER. :mad:
RAM FANS: HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS (or holiday) AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Martiin]

In my opinion Az Hakim should never have started as punt-returner sunday, but maybe Mike Martz wanted to see how he would perform under presure(Last weeks fumble in mind!),and he showed that he is under no circumstances a starter in that position.
It would be safer starting Trung Candidate in the play offs and only use Az Hakim as a receiver.
We would probably gain less yards this way, but the way our offense is playing, it shouldn't be a big problem.
Whether we sould re-sign him, depends on how he performs as a receiver!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

GO RAMS!!!!!!

[mrtaxi]

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

I think that AzZy is still a great 3 or 4 reciever but I hope he's done as a punt-returner, he drives me crazy back there.
I agree Canidate would be a good choice. It would be nice to see him get some more touchs in a game.:evil:

[Aries51]

The one thing that impressed me about Az is how he took getting pulled off punt returns.He took it like a man and basically said he would help the team anyway he could.At least he takes responsibility for his mistakes.I have a feeling that Az may not ask for a huge contract.He is a fairly humble guy and I think he'll try to do what is best for the team.I still think signing Fletcher should be our number 1 priority.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!



:angryram: GO RAMS! STAY FOCUSED! WIN!:shield:

[DJRamFan]

Wow, this is all the thoughts we all had....Az is a decent 3 receiver, but i would rather have proehl at number 3 - mr. first down...

[Aries51]

I would love to see Proehl hang around for a few more years,but we still dont know if he will retire or not.Az is really most effective in the four wide-receiver set.So even if we Signed Az we would still be looking for another wide out.If Proehl decides to stick around I think we would let Az go and we still would be shopping for another wide out.:rolleyes: I'm glad this is just speculation and I dont work in the Rams front office.I'm too divided to have sound judgement on this situation.






:angryram: GO RAMS! STAY FOCUSED! WIN!:shield:

[MsWistRAM]

My opinion hasn't changed. I like him as receiver but has no business on returns. Martz finally got it through his thick skull, I heard Az is off the return team rest of season. With salary cap and all, I think it is money better spent on new blood in draft or for a free agent.

[sprtsmac]

I like Az and he is a threat anytime he is on the field. Is he a number one, no. Maybe a number two. Would I like to keep him...yes, but not if he wants the money of a number one.

[bud4wiser]

Kickoff/Punt return execution

Gentle Readers,

Mr. Hakim's failure to catch and return kickoffs etc. consistently is more complicated than many comments posted here suggest.

A larger responsibility involving both the staff and players of the Rams organization is going unaddressed when coaches (and or fans) assume a situation is being addressed by player substitution.

I would suggest that a close look be given to evaluating kickoff and punt return schemes. Staff attention to player performance in other game areas has created a discrepancy in the quality of play in kick-return areas.

Perhaps, the introduction of a simple ball/receiver protection philosophy should be implemented on kick returns.

It is my understanding that a similar "coaching philosophy" is responsible for the decidedly obvious improvement in defensive play.

:ram:

[sprtsmac]

I'll buy that idea. In my opinion whatever works. I do believe we have the coach to work on this. Didn't Ellard used to return punts?

[valerius]

re-sign Az

I would also submit that if either Bruce or Holt were injured, that Az would become invaluable. I definitely think we should re-sign him, but if its a choice between him and Fletcher... well.... thats why Zyagmut gets paid the big $$

[RMFN]

If the Choice is AZ versus Fletcher and Little then

LET HIM GO:angryram:

[evil disco man]

Let him go?

LET HIM GO is what most of you seem to be screaming, so I'm going to take a different path and defend Az.

Some people are not meant to return punts, Az being one of them. It was not his choice whether or not to return punts, he was simply following the coaches' orders. I'm sure many other players on the Rams' roster would be equally horrible handling punts. The fact is, he was meant to be a third receiver (which he is very good at) who could step up and start if a starter was injured (which he could). I'm sure he tried very hard to fix his problem on punt returns, but it just didn't seem to click. The coaches wanted him back returning punts, so he thought by following the coaches' orders he was helping the team. I'm not blaming this solely on the coaches, but they could've replaced him a long time ago, and he would've taken it humbly (as he did now) and worked harder on his role as a third receiver.

All in all, he is astounding as a third receiver and could step up if 'The Reverend' or 'Big Game' were injured. So while you go on bashing Az's performance, try to understand that he plays a larger role in this offense than you apparently think.

He has, in my perspective, been nothing but a team player, trying to help the team, and hasn't lashed out at the media (or fans) when criticized. Give him a break.

Keep him.

:ram:

[DJRamFan]

I think most of the people that want him to go is because of the punt returns, if he were to be a WR only, I think a lot of people would say for him to stay. But the big problem is Fletcher is more of a necessity for the team than Az right now. It would be interesting to see the contract they offer a #3 receiver (one that could be #1 on some teams)...

I voted to let him go because of the fumbles on punt returns. If Martz takes him off Special Teams permanently and they don't break the bank on a new contract, keep him...it's a tricky situation.