Kind of a bummer about the league rejecting the Rams request to wear the 1999 throwbacks for the season opener this year. Policy is policy, and the one year lead time probably lets the league push out related merchandise. Still, I can't help but wonder how it would have been met if one of the more nationally marketable teams had made a late request to wear throwbacks... I'll take off my tin foil hat now.

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ESPN's John Clayton looks at coaches on final double secret probation this season. Not surprisingly, our own Scott Linehan made the list. Most telling line:

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Don't underestimate the effect the last year of a contract can have on a player's performance. Cash is a helluva motivator. Hopefully, that translates into good things from CB Ron Bartell this season. Bartell improved late in the season filling in for an injured Tye Hill. With Fakhir Brown likely to be absent to due his being an idiot unable to stay away from banned substances despite failing one test, the Rams will need Bartell to be at least league average this season.

Of course, an improved d-line would make the backfield look all that much better.

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The most recent mock at DraftTek has the Rams taking Chris Long in the first round and Auburn's Quentin Groves in the second. What's not to like about that? That would certainly make the d-line the team's number one asset.

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Speaking of Groves, the Steelers have taken a real shinning to the kid. Notice Mosley's comparison of Groves to Gholston at that link: