The Rams use this pick to fill one of their many needs in the form of Georgia LB Alec Ogletree.

Jim Thomas (@jthom1) tweets

Here is Ogletree‘s breakdown via NFL.com -

I love Les Snead’s gambler mentality and the fact that Coach Fisher is ready and willing to be his partner in crime.

Rams fans weren’t sure what to truly expect from the first night of the draft but it’s clear that the Rams came out a more exciting team after the two picks.

Rams GM Les Snead and Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

After months of speculation, misinformation, and smoke and mirrors (you get the point) we know who the newest additions to the Rams herd.

Hours leading up to the bewitching hour rumors of the Rams trading UP to grab WVU WR Tavon Austin picked up steam and had Rams fan in a tizzy.

Usually where there’s smoke there’s also fire but during draft week it could all be just that, smoke.

But not this time.

With @Wynnde13 banging the table and giving Les Snead an earful the past few weeks it looks like he took her advice.

The cost of the trade? Rams swap first round picks with Buffalo, Rams give up their second, swap third round picks, and give up a seventh round pick per Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas.

From @KaraHenderson Snead just moments after the Rams pick. Enough said.

Kara Henderson Snead’s Tavon Austin Tweet

Here is the official St. Louis Rams write up on Austin.

Enjoy the pick while you can because the Rams still have pick #22 on tap. –> They need to trade down and recoup a second round pick.

So without further delay here is the path to the 2013-2014 post-season for your St. Louis Rams.

2013-2014 Rams Schedule per NFL.com

1) Two. Count them two nationally televised prime time games within the division and both AT HOME at the Edward Jones Dome. Week 4 vs. the 49ers for Thursday Night Football and then in Week 8 vs. the Seahawks on Monday Night Football.

2) For the love of Peets Coffee please stop scheduling the Rams at Seahawks in Week 17. Yuck. It’s not the division tradition that most Rams fans are looking for.

3) There are three back-to-back away games. It’s not a huge deal but sometimes it comes down to those little things. Coach Fisher should serve up personalized fruit smoothies to make those stretches more bearable. (Yes, that’s a knock on Chip Kelly.)

4) The bye at Week 11 works nicely. The Rams (or any other team for that matter) could use a break by that point in the season.

5) The Rams get a very short turnaround between Week 4 at Dallas on 9/22 to their first prime time match on 9/26 when they host the 49ers for Thursday Night Football. That’s a tough week.

6) Week 2 at Atlanta will be an interesting game with Steven Jackson playing in a uniform other than the blue and gold.

Ohh yeah yeah
At Last the skies above are blue
Our hearts as wrapped up in clovers
The night the Rams signed you

…

Ohh yeah yeah…
You smile, you smile
And then the offer was cast
And here we are in football heaven
For you are the Rams’ At Last

(Adapted from “At Last” by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren.)

I had already scheduled my #Whilewaiting4Jake tweet to go out early Monday morning to give Rams Nation an update. After all who in the world gives free agency updates close to midnight CDT? Apparently the “sources” at the NFL owners meeting in Arizona that’s who. Uh, thanks?

Former Miami Dolphin Offensive Tackle Jake Long. (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

The first tweet I saw come across my timeline at 11:22 p.m. was “Jake Long a Ram.”

Short yet to the point. Thanks Mr. King!

(The original breaking tweet can be found at @ProFootballTalk’s timeline, which I do not follow but you can find here. They had it three minutes before Mr. King did. And yes, I’m not a fan of PFT.)

Then Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch added a little more detail regarding the deal. Of course we all want to know what kind of numbers we’re talking about, right?

OT Jake Long’s initial contract numbers via Jim Thomas.

Key here in the wording is “up to $36 million.” So the maximum amount Jake Long would get paid is just that. The fine details of the contract structure (base salary, bonuses, incentives, etc.) have yet to come to light. He said he’d know more in the coming hours.

What was the tipping point in Long’s choosing St. Louis over Miami? According to NFL Network’s Albert Breer it was none other than Rams head coach Jeff Fisher.

I was told, too, that Jeff Fisher very much sold Jake Long on St. Louis, and the direction of the Rams.

As @JeffDarlington said, financial terms were similar. Miami was clear in how far it would go. Rams went to similar level. Long picked StL.

Long says Rams “really made me feel welcome, my wife and I. It was such a great family atmosphere. It was something I wanted to be a part of”

Now more than ever you can’t underestimate what a difference it makes to have a well respected and established coach like Jeff Fisher. He was a key factor in bringing in newly signed Jared Cook and now Jake Long. Known as a players’ coach, Jeff Fisher, lured Cook from Tennessee and Long from the beaches of Miami.

Maybe the Long’s were ready to leave the South Beach scene and settle down in a more family friendly city. People are always saying St. Louis is a great place to raise kids. Just make sure you don’t force the whole Imo’s Pizza and provolone cheese on them, okay? They might bolt straight back to Miami if you do that.

Welcome to St. Louis Jake and Jackie Long!

p.s. ESPN’s Ed Werder shared the following little tidbit I thought you all would find interesting. Any guesses?

Jake Long turned down a higher offer from a team other than the Dolphins to sign with the Rams, according to source.

Within a matter of a few days three of the biggest Rams free agents were signed to three different teams – the two wide receivers Danny Amendola and Brandon Gibson and running back Steven Jackson.

Amendola was snatched away by the New England Patriots, Gibson took his talents and baggage to South Beach to join the Dolphins and Jackson packed up and headed down to Hotlanta.

(There’s a Craig Dahl teaser at the end of the post. Muhahaha.)

Steven Jackson trades in his Rams horns for Dirty Bird wings.

Jackson signed a three year, $12 million contract with $4 million in guaranteed money. His salary, if he had remained at Ram, would have been $7 million for 2013. Obviously, the Rams weren’t about to pay him a “bell cow” type salary for playing in a committee of running backs. But it wasn’t about the money according to Jackson.

Atlanta Falcons RB Steven Jackson (Courtesy AtlantaFalcons.com)

For all the lean years he stuck it out in St. Louis I for one am happy for Jackson. He finally has a chance to win a post season game and possibly even to the big game, a Super Bowl.

It’s going to be über strange seeing him in something other than Rams blue and gold but I wish him nothing but success. May your new wings take to higher ground and loftier places.

Not too many people believed me when I said…

This per Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

The Falcons have had their eyes on Jackson for quite some time. In fact, they were at exploring the possibility of trading for him near the NFL trading deadline in October, but nothing materialized. As a result, Jackson finished out his ninth season as a Ram.

My conspiracy theory about Steven Jackson seems a lot more plausible now, doesn’t it?

Fisher specifically said quarterback Sam Bradford was one of his biggest reasons for taking on the non-rebuilding rebuilding project in St. Louis. Having a legitimate running back in Jackson was nice but I had the sense that Jackson wasn’t in Fisher’s master plan. Sure enough he takes not one but two running backs, Isaiah Pead and Daryl Richardson, in the draft and brings in a third, Terrance Ganaway, off of waivers.

Fisher knew Jackson, who will be turning 30 in 2013, was not going to be a part of the Rams’ long term plans. So the Rams decide to limit Jackson’s carries so he would be in good shape for a trade.

During the first eight weeks of the season Jackson carried the ball 98 times for 403 yards. In the same eight weeks Richardson saw 63 touches and ran the ball for 335 yards. Pead was pretty much a non-factor with 4 carries for 33 yards.

Week 8 comes and goes without a trade deal in place and the Rams are now “stuck” with Jackson until the end of the season. At this point with nothing to lose they’re thinking, “What the hay,” and they give Jackson more playing time.

In the final eight games Jackson ran the ball 50% more (149 times for 639 yards) while Richardson saw his touches reduce almost in half to 36 carries for 140 yards. Again, Pead was an afterthought with only 21 yards production from 6 attempts.

Once both sides announced back in September 2012 that Jackson had restructured his contract to have a void option, I knew his time in St. Louis would be coming to an end.

Why oh why to New England of all places, Danny?

Of all the teams outside of the division I didn’t want to see any more ex-Rams to go to was New England. As much sense as it makes because Josh McDaniels is there I just hate to see them get sucked into the Patriot Way. Do something original, McDaniels, and stop poaching players from the Rams. Although you could say wide receiver Brandon Lloyd is pretty much attached to McDaniels for better or for worse. He’s hasn’t been able to cut the umbilical cord since their days in Denver until Saturday when the Patriots finally released Lloyd. Then we saw a steady stream of players head east to Foxboro: tight end Mike Hoomanawanui, Greg Salas (currently with the Eagles), and finally Danny Amendola.

It was widely assumed that Amendola’s signing was in reaction to Wes Welker’s signing with the Broncos. We all thought it was the Patriots’ way of sticking it to Welker by giving his version 2.0 $0.1 million more. When in fact, Amendola’s contract was penned first and made official on Tuesday, March 12 per Tom E. Curran of CSNNE.com. Welker’s agreed to terms with the Broncos on March 13. The more you know…

As much as I like Amendola it won’t be as easy to cheer for him as I would for Jackson. I have no qualms with the Falcons. In fact, the Falcons seem to be the sister team of the Rams via the Thomas Dimitroff-Les Snead connection. But the Patriots… Well, if the bad blood between the two teams from Spygate wasn’t enough then my distaste for a one Josh McDaniels might just take it over the edge.

Brandon Gibson takes his talents to South Beach.

Gibson strikes a three year deal (I haven’t been able to find any specific numbers) to join wide receivers Mike Wallace and Brian Hartline and tight end Dustin Keller in the Miami offense.

I think my ability to get open is what kind of sets me apart and I’m a pretty good route runner,” he told The Finsiders while sitting in as a guest on the radio show. “I do a good job of making plays when it counts and whether it be first-and-10 or 3rd-and-5, I just want to get open and make plays. … My ability I think allows me to play in a lot of places. I can play slot, I can play the No. 2 or No. 3 and I really think my football allows me to get open from a lot of places on the field.

Miami Dolphins WR Brandon Gibson (via @CJ_Octagon)

This struck me as I was watching and reading Gibson’s interview above. ”I can play the No. 2 or No. 3… ” That’s the reason why he was not brought back to the Rams. Coach Fisher has wide receivers Austin Pettis, Chris Givens, Brian Quick and Nick Johnson on the roster all ready to be groomed and coached up. I guess he saw Gibson’s presence as a substractor to their growth.

This is a good move for Gibson in the sense that he’ll be higher up in the receiver food chain. But question is how quickly can he develop chemistry with Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill. At least three of the new offensive weapons are starting from scratch with Tannehill so Gibson has a good chance. He just has to beat out Hartline for the WR2 spot, with of course Wallace being the No. 1 guy.

Best of luck to you, Gibby. At least you won’t have to get annoyed at Ron Clements mentioning you in his tweets any more.

#Whilewaiting4Jake

A long time Rams fan @shrek_13, the genius that he is, decided while waiting to hear ANY news about Dolphins free agent left tackle Jake Long he’d start a new Twitter hashtag.

#Whilewaiting4jake nationally trending on Twitter March 16, 2013

After three days of interviewing in St. Louis (which by the way is longer than forever in free agency time and not to be confused with Rob Ryan’s five minutes of unemployment) he and his lovely wife, Jackie Long (yes, they are really Jake and Jackie Long) left with a contract offer in tow and headed back to Miami.

Long was spotted at the Dolphins facility after leaving St. Louis in what is most likely a last ditch attempt by Miami to keep their franchise left tackle. If someone is going to overspend on a left tackle I’m hoping it’s the Dolphins and not the Rams.

Long’s camp has been seeking $10 – $11 million per year type of numbers and per Jim Thomas but the Rams were firm on whatever their offer was. (We still don’t have any idea what they were.)

For what it’s worth, my guess is Jake Long would be fine (again not to be confused with Rodger Saffold’s being “fine”) playing in St. Louis. But it would be quite the shock for his wife to have to move here after living in Miami. As they say, “Happy wife, happy life.”

While the hashtag was trending nationally the Longs were being pulled in two main directions – one arm being tugged back by Dolphins fans and the other by anxious Rams fans. On March 15, Jackie Long tweeted, “Heading to the airport soon, don’t worry … we’re getting close to the end of all of this!”

It’s very early Sunday morning and they’ve yet to announce their decision.

So let me tell you some big news #Whilewaiting4jake.

Rams fans won’t have safety Craig Dahl to use as their personal Twitter piñata any longer. As of Saturday, March 16 Dahl is officially… (wait for it)

a…

San Francisco 49er.

(insert wild howling here)

This was the happiest I had seen my Twitter timeline since free agency had begun. Not only had the Rams finally gotten Dahl out of St. Louis he had actually landed to “help out” the 49ers in their bid to somehow do something they weren’t able to in 2012 – beat the Rams. The 49ers signed Dahl to a three year contract (again no numbers at this time.)

From the 49ers website:

“We are pleased to announce the signing of Craig,” said 49ers General Manager Trent Baalke. “He is an experienced veteran with excellent intangibles, who has working knowledge of the NFC West.”

If you don’t believe me here is photographic evidence complete with a feather pen.

San Francisco 49er safety Craig Dahl (via @49ers)

Rams fans were losing their minds waiting for the white smoke to appear from the top of Rams Park hoping that they would know either way what had happened with Miami Dolphin free agent left tackle Jake Long. Both Long and Detroit Lions safety Louis Delmas were at Rams Park getting poke and prodded to make sure their respective injury prone parts checked out.

Tight end Jared Cook officially signs with the Rams.

Rams Tight End Jared Cook signing his new contract at Rams Park (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

For all you salary cap buffs out there here are the specifics. As announced Monday morning, Cook received a 5-year, $31.5 million contract with $19 million guaranteed. His contract could go up to $38.5 million with incentives.

Now we need to get him a good nickname. I’ve seen the hashtag #TopChef from @STLouisRams. What do you think?

How many hours does it take for Jake Long to get his physical?

Apparently way too Long. (See what I did there.)

“Long Watch” was just that. It began around 7:00 a.m. St. Louis time with Rams fans hanging on each and every Jim Thomas tweet. Every once and a while we’d see an update from Ian Rapoport of NFL Network saying it’s still going. Meanwhile, all I can think of is, “Are we there yet?”

5:49 p.m. we get a real update from Thomas:

Jim Thomas Update No. 1

At 7:19 p.m. we were given the okay to suspend “Long Watch” until tomorrow by Ian Rapoport. So I went and fed my family dinner and breathed a sigh of relief. Strangely I was craving some steak and potatoes…

@Rapsheet Jake Long Tweet

8:03 p.m.: I think most of these dinners end up at a fancy steakhouse of some sort. See my stomach was onto something earlier in the evening. I bet you anything they were at Morton’s or Ruth Chris’. Great, now I’m hungry again…

Jim Thomas Update No. 2

Bottom line at the end of the day we still don’t have any clue what is going on with Long except that he’s still in St. Louis which can only mean something positive, right? Unless that you’re Rob Ryan and decide to bail after a few posh dinners and a St. Louis Blues game. But I digress…

If I had to guess I’d say we should be hearing something close to 11:00 a.m. when newly signed tight end Cook will have his press conference.

Delmas has left the building!

The dude snuck out of St. Louis without a contract and to add insult to injury he headed out to Niners-land for a visit.

In all seriousness, I have to wonder if Delmas’ physical went ho-hum and the Rams tried to slap an injury clause into his contract. Delmas balked and left the building seeking another offer. If so, then good riddance. There was no way the Rams should have offered him a contract where they weren’t protected from injury to Delmas.

Delmas has left the building!

Wide receiver Danny Amendola is a freaking New. England. Patriot. 

Ewww… I think I’m going to be sick.

Don’t get me wrong. I still like Amendola. Just hate, hate, hate.. Did I mention that I really hate the Patriots?… that he went to New England. Thanks a lot, Wes Welker.

First the back story.

Disgruntled Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker signed a 2-year $12 million fully guaranteed contract with the Denver Broncos. NFL Network’s Michelle Beisner reported the breakdowns as follows: $4 million signing bonus and $2 million in salary the 1st year. In the second year is $3 million salary and $3 million in bonuses. This averages out to $6 million per year.

Welker in his own special way “stuck it to the man” (in this case, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick) by signing with the AFC rival Denver Broncos. You can already hear the “Manning to Welker” calls, can’t you?

So what does The Man do? He goes and brings in Welker 2.0, i.e. Amendola, and signs Amendola for five years, $31.5 million with $10 million guaranteed. Average salary if Amendola makes it through the contract, $6.1 million. That extra $0.1 million was thrown in there to tick off Welker. Belichick is an evil genius.

Other notable Rams free agents in FA-FA-land.

Steven Jackson is still being connected to the Green Bay Packers. Today rumors of a 3-year deal were swirling its way around Twitter but nothing solid has yet to surface.

Brandon Gibson is still mulling over the Jets.

Former Rams kicker Josh Brown signed with the New York Giants. Brown spent last off season with the Jets then signed with the Bengals mid-season.

Rams cornerback Bradley Fletcher signed with the Eagles.

Former Rams wide receiver Donny Avery signed with the Kansas City Chiefs.

————————————-

As always, thanks for reading. Now on to day three.

The St. Louis Rams seem to have the Miami Dolphins number (at least personnel wise.) The Dolphins keep losing ex-Titans to the Rams. First, Coach Jeff Fisher and now it appears they have missed out on tight end Jared Cook. The off field tug-o-war stands at Rams 2: Dolphins bupkis.

1) The Rams have agreed to terms with former Tennessee Titans tight end Jared Cook.

It’s a five-year deal and according to a tweet citing long time Tennessee Titan beat writer Jim Wyatt as his source Cook’s deal is worth $35.1 million. No word yet on how much of that is guaranteed though.

This is a little too rich for my blood and it definitely takes Cook out of the Nordstrom category of $5 million – $6 million range and places him up in Neiman Marcus territory of $7+ million. The Rams definitely went with the luxury signing on Tuesday.

New Rams TE Jared Cook (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

Here’s a quick bio blast on Jared Cook Jr. Cook is a 6 ft. 5 in., 248 lb. 25 year old, 5th year player who was selected by Jeff Fisher in the 3rd round (89th pick overall) of the 2009 draft. There’s no doubt Fisher had a hand in convincing Cook to choose the Rams over the Miami Dolphins. Déjà vu anyone?

This per Jim Thomas:

Cook has freakish athletic skills, including 4.49 speed in the 40. He’s not much of a blocker, and lined up frequently in the slot for the Titans.

Jared Cook’s Career Statistics (via NFL.com)

And a quick tweet from Jim Wyatt:

https://twitter.com/jwyattsports/status/311711903401508865

Cook is due to arrive in St. Louis and Rams Park on Wednesday to make it official. There’s your day one splash in free agency.

2) The Rams defensive end position was solidified this afternoon with the resigning of William Hayes.

Hayes and the Rams have a 3-year deal in place according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Jim Thomas. Hayes will rejoin his DE brethren Chris Long, Robert Quinn, and Eugene Sims.

Hayes was an integral part of the defensive line rotation in 2012 giving starters Long and Quinn some reprieve when needed. Hayes was so effective in fact that sometimes it was hard to tell that there was a substitution. Despite his part-time status on the line Hayes still managed to rack up seven of the Rams’ league leading 52 sacks. (The Rams tied for the league’s top stop with the Broncos.)

Last week I pounded the table literally and figuratively for resigning Hayes at the Rams Capology event. Sounds like my yelling had some influence of general manager Les Snead, eh? (You’re welcome, Mr. Hayes.)

3) The Rams are still shopping for Dolphins left tackle Jake Long and Detroit Lions safety Louis Delmas.

Both Long and Delmas are expected to pay Earth City a visit Wednesday. Long will undergo a physical and depending on the outcome may leave St. Louis newly minted as a Ram. I still think he’s asking price of upwards of about $10 million is way too steep but that’s just me. Delmas will pay the Rams a visit via the Tim Walton connection. The Rams new defensive coordinator coached Delmas in Detroit and would be a welcomed addition since the Rams are very thin at that position. With the release of Quintin Mikell and with Craig Dahl’s name not being mentioned in resigning talks the Rams only have Darian Stewart (recently resigned RFA), and Matt Daniels, Rodney McLeod on their roster.

Past injuries have been issues with both these players. Long recently got the “clean bill of health” sticker from renown orthopaedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews after repairing a triceps tear. And here is Lions head coach Jim Schwartz on the impact of Delmas’ loss had on the Detroit’s defense. (Delmas only played eight games in 2012)

Just something to chew on while we await on the physicals.

4) Running back Steven Jackson along with wide receivers Danny Amendola and Brandon Gibson have yet to find a new home.

Rotoworld says Jackson “will likely” sign with the Green Bay Packers. I’m not sure I could stomach Jackson in green and yellow. I don’t think dreadlocks fit well underneath a cheesehead hat. (Just sayin’…)

Chris Wesseling of NFL.com:

Two sources tell @ravensinsider that Baltimore “holds some interest” in Danny Amendola. Titans, Vikings also reported to be interested.

— Chris Wesseling (@ChrisWesseling) March 13, 2013

Amendola is also getting interest from the Redskins, Giants and Bills per @PFCentral.

Connor Orr of the Star-Ledger:

Brandon Gibson will indeed visit with the #Jets as Daily News just noted. Interest in former #Rams WR is very serious.

— Conor Orr (@ConorTOrr) March 12, 2013

5) The Rams retain the services of defensive tackle Jermelle Cudjo.

Another integral part of the Rams defensive line was kept intact as the Rams and Cudjo inked a two-year contract worth $1.8 million per Jim Thomas.

Much like Hayes, Cudjo filled in the line when starters couldn’t. Cudjo actually started four games at the beginning of the season when presumed starter Michael Brockers suffered the dreaded high ankle sprain. (Ask Sam Bradford about that. Unfortunately he’s much too familiar with it.)

————

This was just day one folks and boy were the rumors and speculations flying all over Twitter on Tuesday.

Let’s see what day two brings for the Rams.

In a matter of about four hours Monday afternoon the landscape of the NFC West changed for the 2013 season and beyond.

First, the disgruntled Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin was traded to Seattle (or as some of us call it Vikings Northwest: See Nate Burleson, Sidney Rice, Tavaris Jackson, and their current OC Darrelle Bevell.) for this year’s first round and seventh round picks as well as a mid- round pick in 2014.

Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports writes that Harvin’s vote of no confidence in Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder was one of the factors in requesting the trade. Sam Ponder is on line one for you, Mr. Harvin. I doubt she’d chew you out like Mrs. Brady, so you’re lucky.

Don’t get me wrong Harvin has great on-field upside. He’s only 24 and when not battling migraines and other injuries he’s a very explosive receiver and return guy. But off the field, it’s the team that suffers from headaches stemming from stories of his massive egomania. 

Good luck with that Pete Carroll.

But just as Twitter was just starting to break down and digest the Harvin news Jim Harbaugh ordered up a trade that would surely give Rams defenders a second case of heartburn.

The 49ers received wide receiver Anquan Boldin (Nicknamed simply as “Q”) from his brother John’s team, the Baltimore Ravens, in exchange for a sixth round pick.

Kevin Demoff, Les Snead, Jeff Fisher (Courtesy STLouisRams.com)

But before you ask for the Pepto Bismol think about this. Other than the obvious issue of his advanced age (32 years old) and his $6 million price tag, why wouldn’t other teams make an offer? Actually, one other team did and it was the Minnesota Vikings. They were only willing to surrender a seventh round pick. I see a big red flag there.

Nonetheless, these two moves had many Rams fans in a tizzy. The Seahawks and 49ers had not only taken a run at but had secured two of the most highly talked about receiving weapons during recent weeks.

WWTRD? (What would the Rams do?)

On Monday, March 11, absolutely nothing.

Why make a knee jerk reaction deal because half of the division went cray cray like the women at a Lululemon warehouse sale? Sometimes the best values and the smartest purchases can me made after the mob shopper frenzy. Technically it might be a sale but the draft picks and monies associated with Harvin (2013 first round pick, seventh round pick and a 2014 mid- rounder) and Boldin (6th round pick and $6 million) involve a layaway plan that Kevin Demoff is not willing to offer at this time.

And for that I am relieved.

But take heart, Rams fans. Just because they didn’t secure a free agent away during the pre-sale doesn’t mean they weren’t window shopping. We don’t know exactly what position the Rams front office had in mind but here’s a tweet from Zach McCrite of 101 ESPN:

I’m told #Rams are after a big name and if all sides agree, there “may be a significant deal” by Wednesday. Make of it what you will.

— Big EZ (@BigEZ) March 11, 2013

The official NFL shopping season opens Tuesday, March 12 at 3:00 p.m. CDT. I am counting down the hours like I used to wait for Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale every July.

I think this new “legal tampering” window that the NFL instituted at midnight Saturday is laughable at best. Under the new guidelines teams are given permission to converse with certified agents of opposing teams free agents with the league’s blessings. BUT…

It is impermissible for a club to enter into an agreement of any kind, express or implied, oral or written, or promises, undertakings, representations, commitments, inducements, assurances of intent or understandings of any kind concerning the terms or conditions of employment offered to, or to be offered to, any prospective Unrestricted Free Agent for inclusion in a Player Contract after the start of the new League Year.

I know the league isn’t so naive to think that discussions aren’t already going on behind closed doors and over the airwaves. Inquiries and dialogue, albeit informal, have been taking places for weeks. The NFL underwear Olympics (scouting combine) isn’t the only thing that takes place in Indianapolis in late February.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says, “Not so fast…” (Courtesy NFL.com)

Here is a link to the complete memo from Commissioner Goodell via NFL.com.

And here’s the kicker:

 Any announcement of an agreement or an agreement in principle by a club or another party, including, but not limited to, a certified agent, player, or media organization may subject the club to a tampering investigation.

Nothing like a good ole threat to get all parties involved to keep their mouths shut until 3:00 p.m. CDT when the new league officially kicks off. Surprisingly enough the warning been effective and for those who stayed up past their bedtime to monitor Twitter at midnight were sorely disappointed. Yawn…

I think I saw running back Steven Jackson’s departure from the Rams coming. The Rams cleaned house last season after the dismal 10-38 record under then head coach Steve Spagnuolo. They brought aboard a new head coach in the form of Jeff Fisher, a new general manager Les Snead, and new winning attitude.

Fisher specifically said quarterback Sam Bradford was one of his biggest reasons for taking on the non-rebuilding rebuilding project in St. Louis. Having a legitimate running back in Jackson was nice but I had the sense that Jackson wasn’t in Fisher’s master plan. Sure enough he takes not one but two running backs, Isaiah Pead and Daryl Richardson, in the draft and brings in a third, Terrance Ganaway, off of waivers.

Running back Steven Jackson at ESPN (Courtesy @Sj39)

My long standing conspiracy theory goes something like this. Fisher knew Jackson, who will be turning 30 in 2013, was not going to be a part of the Rams’ long term plans. So the Rams decide to limit Jackson’s carries so he would be in good shape for a trade. It’d be foolish to wear out your player if you’re shopping him around, no?

During the first eight weeks of the season Jackson carried the ball 98 times for 403 yards. In the same eight weeks Richardson saw 63 touches and ran the ball for 335 yards. Pead was pretty much a non-factor with 4 carries for 33 yards.

Week 8 comes and goes without a trade deal in place and the Rams are now “stuck” with Jackson until the end of the season. At this point with nothing to lose they’re thinking, “What the hay,” and they give Jackson more playing time.

In the final eight games Jackson ran the ball 50% more (149 times for 639 yards) while Richardson saw his touches reduce almost in half to 36 carries for 140 yards. Again, Pead was an afterthought with only 21 yards production from 6 attempts.

Once both sides announced back in September 2012 that Jackson had restructured his contract to have a void option, I knew his time in St. Louis would be coming to an end.

I think letting wide receivers Danny Amendola and Brandon Gibson walk was the right thing to do. As hard as it is for Rams fans to swallow it was the prudent thing to do.

I never would have thought to put the “Danario Alexander, he’s injury prone.” label on Amendola but with only playing 12 games the last two seasons it’s not hard to see why the Rams let him test out free agency. Especially since his camp is probably seeking Brian Hartline kind of money, $30.775 million over five years.

The Rams view Gibson as a WR3-WR4 going forward and wanted to resign him at that salary level per Jim Thomas. But Gibson was probably seeking a WR2 type role and corresponding salary. If the Rams are serious about grooming the receiving squad (and in all fairness give Gibson a chance to be that WR2 on another team) then letting him go seems like the best thing for both sides.

The immediate future seems scary without the familiar faces of Amendola and Gibson (let’s include Jackson in there as well).

Yes, they are losing 152 receptions for 1,678 yards and eight touchdowns worth of offensive production with the departure of Amendola, Gibson, and Jackson. But the youngin’s are starting to make their mark too. The developing Rams receivers had 83 receptions for 1,1115 yards and nine touchdowns between Chris Givens, Austin Pettis, and Brian Quick. And that’s not even including tight end Lance Kendricks’ contribution of 42 receptions for 519 yards and four touchdowns.

A wise man once said…

Wake up sprinting, don’t be scared, be passionate and be honest.

That’s what Les Snead wrote down and handed to Rams Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Kevin Demoff during his job interview.

The Rams went from the Four Pillars of Spagnuolo to embodying Snead’s Four Core Principles. With all the uncertainties and big holes to fill, Rams fans also need to reflect the second core principle of not being scared.

There were many nervous fans on Twitter this weekend and I get it. But we don’t have the entire picture yet. Some patience and a little faith would be nice. Just take a deep breath because it’s still early in the process. Let the see how the pieces come together.

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I have a few more thoughts but I’ll save them for my next post. Let me know what you guys think so far.

To be continued…

So it was a very pleasant surprise when I saw that this week’s episode had NFL Network’s Rich Eisen’s sit down with St. Louis Rams head coach and NFL Competition Committee member Jeff Fisher for the REP’s Combine Special.

They chat about Coach Fisher’s first year in St. Louis, the NFL scouting combine, and a few other important Rams topics.

St. Louis Rams Head Coach Jeff Fisher on The Rich Eisen Podcast.

Rich Eisen: How do you rank your first year in St. Louis?

Coach Fisher:

It wasn’t a rebuilding year… It was not good enough from our standpoint. We lost games that we had a chance to win early on and throughout the season.

We learned a lot. That’s the thing I think is so good about what happened. Our young team learned a lot and we have to learn not to let those things happen again.

It’s a real fun team to coach and to win a game on the road was a weird experience because they hadn’t done it in a while.

Our division is an outstanding division. Arizona came to St. Louis undefeated (in week five). We forget about that at the beginning. It was quite a challenge for us and we were proud of the way they played.

(I love that Coach Fisher isn’t satisfied. Despite taking a 2-14 team to 7-8-1 in one season he did not mention specific records in the interview. I think most coaches would hung their hat on that sort of improvement. But not Coach Fisher. He just saw that the team is improving and growing towards getting better.)

Rich Eisen: “(James) Laurinaitis and Chris Long came to the set after the game. They said that it had been a very long time since they had played a game with a camera hovering over the middle of the field and the whole country watching. In the end, they were enjoying staying on the set so much Deion asked them to leave. But you could see how much joy they were taking in these moments.”

Coach Fisher:

It’s hard you know. No team in a five year span in the history of the NFL lost more games than our organization prior to last year. Winning games is what it’s all about. We won a few and then we had one team in particular that took us ten quarters to beat.

It’s funny because you go through that tie experience. But then you play them three weeks later and you’re going to guarantee there’s no way that’s going to happen again. … And we were two minutes away from that happening again.

(I was at that game and stayed after to see Laurinaitis and Long hang out on the set. They were having a great time and most of all I think they were happy for Rams fans.)

Rich Eisen: “That was unbelievable. People maybe for the next decade having trouble dealing with Colin Kaepernick will have your team to blame. Because it was your team that knocked Alex Smith out of the game and ushering in the whole Kaepernick-ness of it all.”

Coach Fisher:

Sorry about that. I would think the 49er fans are also Rams fans at heart.

(They can specifically thank Rams LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar and maybe DT Michael Brockers. We believe that it was a combination of Dunbar and Brocker’s hits on Alex Smith in week 10 that ultimately started the Colin Kaepernick era in San Francisco. And no sir. There’s no way any 49ers fans would ever admit to being Rams fans at heart.)

Rich Eisen: “Where do you stand on the whole subject on (Cam Newton, RG3, Colin Kaepernick type) quarterbacks and where offenses are going?”

Coach Fisher:

Well, we’ve got Carolina this year so we’re going to see that offense five times. So we’ve got work to do as everybody else does. And it doesn’t mean to say that another one is not going to pop up someplace. That’s the challenge of the NFC West is the mobility at the quarterback position. The pistol, the read-option whatever you call it.

The NFC East has their own new challenge in Philadelphia with the high tempo. The game changes and you’re forced to adjust on both sides of the ball. Defensively we have to adjust.

Rich Eisen: “What do you think Bradford needs to do to take a step into that elite class?”

Coach Fisher:

How about have his second year in the same offensive system? Because this will be the first time he’ll be able to experience that. Last year our offense was his third offense in three years.

We need to surround him with better people. He can make all the throws. He’s an outstanding deep ball thrower. He has more mobility than people think. He can run for first downs and do that kind of stuff.

We can do a better job of keeping him upright. We did that as we moved through the season and minimized the hits. We need to get some better people. We are working at that.

(Is Brian Schottenheimer’s offense the best fit for Bradford? I don’t know for sure but giving Bradford another year in the same system is a good way to figure it out. More importantly it sounds like the Rams are serious about getting Bradford the weapons he needs to have that break out season. “Better people” is a very broad term but I’m hoping it means solidifying the offensive line. That should be their number one priority.)

Rich Eisen: “What about Steven Jackson? Is he one of those people?”

Coach Fisher:

Hope so. We are in the middle of that. Steven is out of the country and we are talking to his agent. We’d love for him to have a chance to finish his career with us.

(I read this as “We’d love to have Jack back but not at the $7 million dollar 2013 price tag.” Coach Fisher keeps talking about his young team and I’m not convinced that Jack is going to be a part of that youth movement. The Rams have Isaiah Pead, Daryl Richardson and Terrance Ganaway waiting in the wings.)

Rich Eisen: “Moving forward what are you hoping to get out of this combine? You saw some kids last year that you drafted that made some immediate impact.”

Coach Fisher:

Jenks (Janoris Jenkins), Tru (Trumaine Johnson), Chris Givens and Daryl Richardson…

What you get out of this is you’ve got to aggressively attack the interview process. Get as much information as you can, ask as many questions as you can, and then hopefully we’re going to get enough guys participate where you’d be able to look and see some athletic ability.

We have a pretty good sense of the strengths of this draft. We have a good sense of what we need. We’re either going to do with these guys out here or we are going to try and do it through free agency.

(Strengths of this draft include safeties, linebackers, and on both sides on the line. Which is great news for the Rams since they need some starters as well as depth in those positions. Mike Mayock of NFL Network believes there isn’t really that Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Luke Kuechly-type star player in the first round of the draft. He said the number 20-25 picks in the draft are just as good as the number 5-10 picks. The Rams could be getting some great players with the 16th and 22nd picks in the first round.)

(Another quick note: Last year’s draft was orchestrated by General Manager Les Snead and Coach Fisher but they were using information put together by the previous regime’s scouting staff. For this April’s draft Snead will have intelligence gathered by his own people. This can only make things better, right?)

Update from @Shields3L – Most of the scouting staff is still the same from last yr. Only 3 guys gone. (Thanks for the info, Tim.)
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Rich Eisen and Coach Fisher continue their conversation changing their focus to what was being discussed by the competition committee which Coach Fisher is a part of. Especially fun was listening to Rich Eisen campaign to get rid of his pet peeve, the Tuck Rule.

You can listen to the interview in its entirety here or on iTunes. Coach Fisher’s segment starts around the 45 minute mark.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/st-louis-rams/0ap2000000145848/Rich-Eisen-