The NFC West is an absolute mess this season with the last division champ, the Seahawks, on the short-short list of who may win the Andrew Luck bowl in 2011. The Cardinals have gotten a bit better, but don't fool yourself: They still haven't replaced Kurt Warner. The 49ers are on the short-short list of who was most severely compromised by the lockout. So are my Rams.
We might be the favorite to win the division, but don't kid yourself: nothing is in the bag, and if we win this sack of shit, it won't mean much. It simply means that we were the most buoyant turd in the toilet bowl.
At the root of my pessimism is Billy Devaney's handling of the draft and free-agency.
As you well know, I was ready to bury Devaney in an unmarked grave in the middle of Nevada desert immediately after the draft. As far as I am concerned, he made all the wrong moves, not all the right moves.
In free agency, we have done something close to nothing to plug out critical holes. Do you honestly expect me to be excited about the signing of Eagle safety Quentin Mikell? Do you expect me to be excited about the signing of ball-dropping wide-receiver Michael Sims-Walker from the Jaguars? If you do, you are crazy. Neither of these men are capable of changing the fate of the Rams organization.
Now, I hope they prove me wrong, but I seriously doubt they will.
You do know that Zac Diles is a cast-off from one of the worst defenses in the league? You do know that Al Harris, great as he once was, is 36 years of age, and might not make the team.
I like the signing of Harvey Dahl, but only up to a point. It would have been better if we had gotten Mike Pouncey and Harvey Dahl.
Rumor has it we are close to acquiring a running back. Unless that man is Ronnie Brown of the Dolphins, we will not obtain a man capable of changing the fate of the organization. Ronnie just might...
Bottom line is that we just didn't make much progress this season. Like the Bengals, we seem to be ballin' on a budget. We don't seem to be making any high-quality moves. We still don't have a playmaker for Sam Bradford to work with. This pisses me off and frustrates me in the extreme.
Because so many other good and exciting things seem to be happening in my life at this point, it has been easy to turn a deaf ear to the NFL Network, not that they have had much to say about my Rams lately. There has been virtually no coverage of the Rams lately, because there has been nothing to talk about. No story hear folks.
Inept management is the story line here. If he were doing good things, Devaney would have one hell of an advocate in me. However, that just isn't the case.
Bottom line is this: I believe 2011 will be a lost season for the Rams, just as it will be for a whole bunch of NFL teams damaged by the recent labor strife.
