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One of the more interesting potential storylines of the 2012 NFC West is a series of what-if questions for the Rams at wide receiver.
Despite having drafted four wideouts in the last two years, the lack of quality at the position for the Rams is still being widely discussed. Yes, that's Van's dead last ranking of the Rams' WR corps among their peers, and it's not very faulty. The problem for the Rams isn't just what they've done in changing the jerseys from 80 to 89, but who they haven't brought in.
For quite some time, there have been several TSTers supporting the hypothetical acquisition of two veteran WRs who now find themselves in the NFC West albeit on other teams: Randy Moss and Terrell Owens. Personally, I'm skeptical that either does much this season to make anyone regret not bringing them aboard; there's a reason why they were out of the league for as long as they were. If, however, either has a solid start to the 2012 season, expect that chorus to grow louder by a few voices.
At the same time, the Rams' quartet of Greg Salas, Austin Pettis, Brian Quick and Chris Givens offers a bounty of opportunity costs. Should any of a dozen second-year WRs elevate their game to join the Julio Jones/A.J. Green tier (Torrey Smith, Doug Baldwin, Titus Young and Greg Little all candidates), Rams fans would likely need a dose of radioactivity to grow an extra pair of hands for the necessary level of hand-wringing.
My personal hope? That the Rams' secondary does their part to kill those worries off in the first place.
With the news that the secondary is back in good health and reports that BFB is playing well enough to allay fears of DX-level injury permanence (somewhat), the secondary could make those hypotheticals of the past irrelevant.
If by season's end the good that any WRs in the NFC West not on the Rams, whether drafted or signed via free agency, does less good for their teams than the Rams' cornerbacks do for ours, we won't be the ones asking what if.
And those Randy Moss and T.O. signings? Sometimes retirement isn't voluntary.