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I have been a Ram fan for 43 years and once again am very excited about our prospects for the coming season. I have decided to get a little nostalgic. I have picked who I believe are the best Rams at their positions over the last 40 years (since 1972).

C Rich Saul

G Tom Mack

G Dennis Harrah

T Jackie Slater

T Orlando Pace

TE Terry Nelson

WRTorry Holt

WR Isaac Bruce

RB Marshall Faulk

RB Eric Dickerson

QB Kurt Warner

PK Jeff Wilkins

P Dale Hatcher

Defense

DE Jack Youngblood

DE Kevin Carter

DT Merlin Olsen

DT Larry Brooks

LB Jack Reynolds

LB Isiah Robertson

LB Kevin Greene

CB Aeneas Williams

CB Jerry Gray

S Dave Elmendorf

S Nolan Cromwell

Looking forward to the next ten years and revising this list to include current and future players!!

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Chris Long and James Laurinaitis are stalwarts on the Ram defense. They have both demonstrated excellence and consistency throughout their young careers. Laurinaitis had an exceptional 2011 season: 105 TKL's, 3 Sacks, 2 Int's, and 7 PD.

Long put the heat on opposing QB's: 13 Sacks, 2 PD, and 1 Int; all from the DE position. Pass rushers are in great demand. Which begs the question: Will the Rams be able to afford both Long and Laurinaitis come 2013? It seems unlikely. If Long goes on the free agent market, he could command a pretty penny. At 27 years of age, with his pass rush production - a five year deal for $70 million - is not out of the realm of posibility.

In my opinion, the Rams would not exceed nor match $14 million a year for Long. It is understandable why they would not. Cost. I think, it would be better to allow Long to become a FA, and use the saved cash for additional talent. The loss of Long can be addressed via draft or free agency.

I would rather have the Rams focus on signing Laurinaitis. Outstanding MLB's are tough to come by. He is, in every sense of the word; a "QB' on defense. His skills - intelligence, leadership, productivity, durability and reliability - are not easily replaceable. At age 25, Laurinatis and his talents at MLB, should be locked up long term.

Personal feelings aside, I see this as the way for the Rams to go forward.

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The Rams started out the new year with many needs, among them, the offensive line. Perhaps no other facet of the game needed to be addressed more than the big men protecting the Rams $50 million quaterback, Sam Bradford. Many fans, myself included, wanted to see a new direction; specifically the release of Jason Smith and the drafting of a blue chip left tackle.

In the months leading up to the draft, the fog cleared and Rams Nation realized that the team was not going to be able to draft our dream in Matt Kalil. Instead, the team was going to stick with who they had in the trenches, along with a few free agent acquisitions. It would be left up to the new coaching staff to turn the ship in a new direction. And boy let me tell you, have we got a few guys that might just be up to the task.

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Maybe some of you are familiar with the work of David Heeb, from Bleacher Report, and others (including myself) are not. Regardless, he wrote this most recent article about the game-by-game predictions for 2012. I, for one, am optimistic, though skeptical. Others who think the 2012 squad can exceed 2010 results will be pleased to read what Heeb has to say. For a look at how the Rams make the playoffs (and the all important poll), click on the blue link below....

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*If you know me you know there is going to be "strong" language in this. Read at your own risk.

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So I remember watching the draft and thought to myself "Are we going to get any offensive linemen soon?" Then we drafted Watkins and thought "That Ving Rhames looking mother fucker is going to be the entire offensive line?" Then I was ok with that. Why? Because we have Paul Boudreau as our offensive line coach. What's so good about him you may ask? Let me explain.

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The St. Louis Rams organization went through a major overhaul this off season. Seizing the opportunity to bring in new talent, Rams owner Stan Kroenke went after the top coaching name available in Jeff Fisher. The big benefit of bringing in someone with Coach Fisher’s pedigree and experience is that you draw instant interest from professional coaches across the league, and you have coach Fisher’s circle of friends and long-time associates chomping at the bit to work with him. Read on to learn a little about our new Special Teams coaches.

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Then head on over to Mocking the Draft and sign up. The NFL season is over three months from starting anyway, so I thought this would be a good/fun way to kill some time. If you're interested, sign up. There are still five spots available. Okay, technically there are six, but I'll be taking the last spot that's not taken by all the other competitors, so it's really five. Here's the link if you're interested:


All-Time NFL Mock Draft

The Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers approached the 2012 Draft with two different philosophies. The Eagles were intent and shoring up a defense that had faultered in 2011, and set about to reenergize that unit with a dedicated influx of talent from the draft. The 49ers, on the other hand, returns a solid defense from 2011 and sought to acquire offensive playmakers from the draft to surround Alex Smith. What I found interesting is what these two teams accomplished, and what the Rams were able to accomplish, in the 2011 Draft.

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The Rams have added a new coaching staff and a new GM. The first draft under the new regime, has been completed. Offseason workouts have started with expectation and optimism. I do not know what the new look Rams will bring, but it looks promising. Some interesting names will be on the FA market in 2013. IMO; it is never to early for assessing players that could help the team. RB, OT, and LB are positions that have major potential free agent talent. After the jump, I will list a few 2013 free agents, that could matchup well with team need.

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This Clap...

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OR....

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....a few symptoms of both, and most importantly the poll right about.......now

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