So for those of you who don't know, today is cut day. NFL teams must be at a 53 man roster by the end of the day. My Rams just cut our first best hope for a good Left Guard this season. Phil Trautwein, Left OT of the Florida Gators for the past four seasons was just given his walking papers. I don't think we game him a chance. I am pissed as fuck about it also. I am beyond livid.
Okay folks, I am going level with you. I have avoided directly attacking Jacob Bell in print, because I prefer not to grill my Rams personally by name. I am going to break that rule right now.
When I first saw Jacob Bell on the field, I saw an underweight, under powered, runt of a guard clinging for dear life to his own ass during the average blocking play. I never saw him win one battle at the line of scrimmage... all season long. Somewhere around game 1 of the season, I expressed my surprise and dismay that Jacob Bell was starting at Left Guard. I said this was an indicator of how low our offensive line had fallen. A fellow Ram fan here in Los Angeles 'corrected' me, informing me that Jacob Bell was actually a high-priced free agent guard from the Titans. He was being both sarcastic and facetious at the same time. He too believed Bell was 20 horse power 2 stroke engine where we needed an 8 piston 8 liter 350 hp engine with 730 fp of torque.
I find it very difficult to speak on this subject. It is very painful. It shows my Rams are stupid. I find that fact intensely humiliating. It is hard to write and speak about it.
Not since the days when Al Davis infamously signed Gerald Perry--a crappy Left Tackle from the Rams--has such catastrophic error been committed with a free agent lineman. Gerald Perry got Hostetler killed many times as a Raider. Bell is not helping us either.
Still Mr. Devaney has to try to save some face. He is going to continue penciling Bell into the roster and push for him as a starter. I would have cut him.
I suspect Trautwein was not given much chance because he is a guy would have pressured a failed high price free-agent for the starting job. Devaney didn't want this kind of embarrassment.
That's about as much as I can write right now. I am very tired, pissed off and frustrated by all this. Our offensive line is going to suck again this year. 7-9 seems unlikely now.
