Rams Future

It may come down to franchising Steven Jackson.  I'm sure he wouldn't be thrilled by that, but I foresee contract issues between Jackson and the Rams.  The guy has had one great year since he's been here, and he's been pretty good the rest of the time.  He's also had some injury issues.

Hey, I'd love for the Rams and Jackson to work out a multi-year deal.  With Al Saunders running the O, Jackson's ceiling, if he can stay healthy and the O-line can do an about-face, is sky high.  I think he still has three, maybe four years of very productive football in him before he gets to the age where you start to become concerned.  Hopefully, something can be worked out without wrecking the salary cap.

I don't think the Rams need to worry about Torry Holt's contract situation right now.  As for Orlando Pace, I think the Rams need to see him stay healthy and productive in 2008.  If Pace has another injury-filled campaign, I don't think it leaves the team any choice but to approach him about renegotiating his contract.  I don't think Pace is at the age where he's very close to the end, but he has missed 75% of the last two seasons.  You can't keep paying premium money to guys who aren't on the field.  As for Alex Barron, who, if memory serves, will be entering the final year of his contract, I wouldn't be against bringing him back, but again, it has to be a reasonable deal.  Barron hasn't shown enough to be given Pace-type money, but he has done a good job of staying on the field.  He needs to ratchet up his awareness, though, and cut down on the silly penalties.  He is a solid, if unspectacular, offensive tackle.  Those kinds of guys you'd like to keep, but not if it breaks the bank.

If Pace gets hurt again and misses a big chunk of 2008, it will really put the Rams over a barrel concerning Barron.  It may force them to pay Barron a bit more than they'd like just to make sure that at least one of their big OTs will be back in 2009. 

I just checked on Alex Barron's situation, and he won't be a free agent until the conclusion of the 2009 season.  So, that's good.  What's more, his contract appears to be fairly cap-friendly for the next two seasons.

So, I put Barron's contract situation with that of Torry Holt.  No need to worry about it for another season at least.

Frankly, player issues aside.  I'm not sure this is a franchise, at least right now, that cares alot about winning. They get good TV revenue money win or lose, and that may be all they are wanting.  Maybe, maybe not... I have been wrong before.  And I hope this is one of those times. Notice the empty seats at the EJD the past 2 years?  I hope they do also, the fans have put the writing on the wall (and its in English so its easy to understand).

Given that and this teams unwillingness to keep guys that put butts in seats, like Isaac Bruce for instance, I can understand why guys like Jackson and Holt may seriously consider moving on.  Wheres the loyalty from the team ownership that helps them get through bad times. Why would they want to stay? Loyalty is a two-way street.

I hold onto one bright spot right now, this years draft actually dealt with needs as a team and not who can we get for cheap (Anybody remember the L. Phillips pick). So hopefully my fears will be short lived.

As far as who to throw to, both Avery and Burton have the potential to become great receivers in this league...  So writing on the wall?  Hope not, but we'll see. And neither of those guys is T. Holt, a play maker and a fan favorite. Hard combination to replace.

Who to hand off to... It will be S. Jackson...  Theres a franchise tag in his future... Will that make him happy, nope.  So we'll see how that plays out. He'll play here barring someone giving up two first rounders and typically only a couple teams are that dumb, and the Raiders just got their RB so that leaves one team. TBD.

I said last month that we as a team also needed to look for a QB, several people thought I had lost my mind. Maybe so, but I still think now is the time to attain Bulger's successor and start the grooming process. Not that he would take Bulgers place now or even in two years but no QB from the NCAA can compete at this level year one, that takes time. At least 2 years for most.  Not a reach in my mind fellas, just sound planning.

And with this years draft picks and good health for our O-Line this year (hopefully) we could lose Barron. We could easily survive that. But the cap limit would feel the pain so we'll carry him another year, maybe two. But he isn't the answer at RT. Too many false starts and a lack of motivation on his part has dealt his future hand.

So in short, our future is cloudy right now. Players are in place to succeed, the question is is the franchise wanting to go the extra mile to allow for that. This year will answer that for all of us.

MT