Devaney was very non committal on most subjects, but here is a short interpretation.
- There have been no talks with Tampa Bay. He would like to talk with anybody and everybody about scenarios, but there have been no conversations as yet.
- Devaney shed questions of drafting a QB with hardly a word, simply mentioning that Marc Bulger was still a member of the team. (!)
- Michael Vick is under contract with the Eagles, and any discussion of him could be deemed tampering. However all scenarios are on the table.
- The Rams will proceed in sequence from the combine, through free agency, through trades, and through the draft to fill each need. Move B cannot be planned until move A has been made.
The presentation was carefully crafted to say "We don't know what we are going to do aside from chase opportunities as we find them." I am sure this partially true. You never know what the market may offer you. Sometimes you get Jerome Bettis for a 2nd rounder. Sometimes you get Marshall Faulk for a 2nd and a 5th. Sometimes you can have Michael Westbrook and LaDanian Tomlinson for free. I know he knows more than he is letting on. Methinks he is planning ahead as a chess player, but he is not going to telegraph his punch.
I find it interesting that he shed the question of drafting a QB with hardly a word, mentioning Marc Bulger. If you read that statement as a psychiatrist would, it means Devaney would rather stick it out with Bulger for 1 more season than draft a rookie starter this year. If you read that statement as a military tactician would, Devaney may not want to discuss who he likes in this draft, and prefers to keep those plans confidential.
It is interesting that he immediately raised the spectre of tampering charges regarding Vick, but wouldn't squelch the rumor. The more I roll that over in my mind the more interesting that is.
Most interesting is the fact that he livened up when discusing the two DTs at the top of the draft. Mentioning Suh and McCoy ignited a small fire in the man.
Carefully considering what I saw in Devaney's interview, I think I saw:
- A shy man.
- A man who is depressed about the present moment.
- A man who is worried about his future.
- A man who is worried about the future of his franchise.
- A man who is not sure of what is around the corner.
- A man who would like to talk about deals with other GMs.
- A man who wants to take 1 of the 2 top DTs in the draft
- A man who disdains the entire idea of drafting a rookie QB in the first round, or starting a rookie QB in 2010.
- A man who has some plans to talk to Philly.
