Let's see, what could we throw on top of the 'for sale' talk to give Rams fans even more of a distraction? I know, start talking about Michael Vick.
Hard-to-believe rumors of the Rams being interested in the hopefully reformed QB cropped up late last week. I'd say that everyone would be talking about the Vick rumor, but then the PD reported that the Rams were officially for sale which changed the discussion. So, is the Vick thing true?
I doubt it. While I sincerely hope the guy has turned his life around (and it's reasonable to assume he has), the Rams have made it a priority to avoid a media circus with regards to their player additions. Vick would bring that, to say the least. More practically, they don't have much room for more salary, especially at a position where they've got lots of dollars already committed to the guy on top of the depth chart, and they also signed a solid backup in Boller and drafted a guy who looks like a fit in the West Coast style offense for their third QB. What little $$ they do have left will be used to address other, more pressing areas of need. I guess you could argue that adding Vick would give the Rams a well-known player (though most people have forgotten about his football ability) raising the level of national attention the team gets, but that might not be the kind of attention a team trying to find a potential buyer is looking for.
This piece at Yahoo! Sports from Michael Lombardi of the National Football Post(who reported the Vick rumor) runs down the case for Vick, which is: 1) Vick's ability improves the offensive line and 2) Devaney knows Vick from his Atlanta days. Well, the offensive line has had a nice infusion of talent, but here's where Lombardi really misses the point:
Anyone who says the Rams organization – or GM Billy Devaney or even head coach Steve Spagnuolo – would be worried about Vick’s character is not in touch with how these three might think. First, the present Rams ownership group has never been afraid to select players with a history of some off-the-field issues. Does the name Lawrence Phillips come to mind? Just recently, they selected Claude Wroten, who had many troubles at LSU. The Rams will select talent and, at times, overlook off-the-field issues.
He's talking about a completely different ownership and team management than we have now. First of all, Georgia's kids own the team now (not for long), and the front office of the Lawrence Phillips/Claude Wroten days is long gone, mercifully. Rams fans know, you can't blindly compare the current era to the Shaw/Zygmunt era of the team. Whether or not they see Vick as reformed remains to be seen, but under Devaney the Rams have gone to great pains to bring in players without issues, save for one draftee with a piddly DUI in his past.
The Michael Vick rumors? Don't believe it. Just another example of how out of touch the national media is when it comes to the Rams.