Bernie dropped a couple gems in a piece from this morning's Post-D on overhauling the roster:
One of the more sinister mistakes in recent years was pushed aside Wednesday, when the Rams released bread-pudding soft wideout Drew Bennett. To me, Bennett is the No. 1 symbol of the sweeping incompetence demonstrated by the prior football administration. Linehan and Zygmunt wanted to pay Bennett the large dollars instead of retaining the younger, faster and more talented Kevin Curtis.
And if that wasn't enough, Linny and Ziggy handed Bennett a starting job by escorting franchise icon Isaac Bruce to the on-ramp of I-70 West. In two seasons as a Ram, Bennett collected $12 million in bonuses and salaries and caught 34 passes. And now he's gone with the wind, along with all of that money turned into useless confetti, leaving the Rams short of receivers.
The old regime made another titanic gaffe by failing to secure a contract extension with the emerging cornerback, Ron Bartell. He will probably command elite (and possibly insane) dollars on the free-agent market, and the Rams could have gotten Bartell for a lower price had they acted sooner.
Hey, all the Rams need is an offensive tackle, a center, a tight end, a couple of wideouts, a good backup quarterback who can push to start, an upgrade at No. 2 running back, a middle linebacker, reinforcements for the defensive line, and an assortment of cornerbacks and safeties. Oh, and probably another guard. Other than that, they're all set.
I'm willing to be patient as long as we see incremental, sound improvements. I'll take a pass on the desperate, panicky, quick-fix mentality that put this franchise in dire straits. The Rams should resist the notion of signing some "name" player just to appease restless, unrealistic fans. I've seen enough front-office dramas and disasters for a while. It's time for some steady and reliable leadership at Rams Park.
Meanwhile, Mike Sando, over at his NFC West blog for ESPN, looks at the Rams who are unrestricted free agents. Or should it be "unrestricted free agents who were Rams?" Or free Rams with unrestricted agents? Now I'm just confused.