2010 is going to be the year I kick the Ram-habit

I think 2010 is the year I am going to kick the Ram-Habit.

Most would say it's a bad habit. I've been a Ram-fan since late 1979 and early 1980. We played the Steelers in the Super Bowl XIV that year. For better or worse, the spectre of that defeat shadowed my youth. Jimmy Carter was running against Ronald Regan back in those days. Vince Ferragamo got paid $52,000 a year as the starting QB of the Rams in 1980.

I've been a fan ever since. Through two moves, oppression at the hands of the 49ers, many bad seasons, a Super Bowl victory, and another Super Bowl defeat; I've stuck with the Rams through thick and thin. I've seen us at the bottom of the league twice: 1996-1997 and 2009-2010.

Now I am calling it quits. Just pull the plug. Disconnect. Get out of the market. Pull-up stakes and leave. Legally separate. File the divorce papers. Tune out. Throw in the towel. No mas! I am done. It's finished. This is that magic moment when Sara Brightman and Andrea Bocelli singing "Time to say goodbye" on PBS.

So why now? Many would say "why not now?" It would seem like an opportune moment. The Rams are a one-victory team at the bottom of league, who just blew the big draft of the decade in which they were selecting #1 in every round. Just about all power-rankings [be they expert-driven or fan-based] have the Rams occupying the #32 spot.

That's dead-last folks. Obviously, they don't think much of Billy Devaney's 2010 Draft or free agency moves. The consensus on these moves amounts to "no felt impact in 2010". Most would say that this is a good moment to sell your stock, cut you losses, and protect assets.

Mike Mayock says that missing on an absolute #1 picked quarterback will cost you five (5) years of lost franchise history, primarily because of the money involved. That is estimated to be some $80m with $50m guaranteed. That's a lot for a small-market team like the Rams. I could hire a regiment of 1,538 Vince Ferragamos in one year for that price tag. I could also have Battalion of 256 Vinces for 6 years for that price tag. Vince was good, too.

I think we missed. It's not Sam's fault that he will become a medical bust. It's Devaney's fault. Goodness of fit is the absolute issue. Sam is a bad fit for the Rams. The Rams are a bad fit for Sam. It is a classic mismatch. I never bought into Devaney's theory. I'll tell you why, one last time.

Over the past 10 years, no team has surrendered more sacks that the Rams. Our OL has allowed 40+ sacks each year and every year for the past 10 seasons. O-Linemen have come. O-Linemen have gone. One thing has remained constant: we have allowed copious sack totals each year and every year. The reason is obvious. We are a rooty-poot organization with no commitment to building a steel-reinforced concrete bunker for our quarterbacks. That is a fact, not a theory. The facts are indisputable.

Given the proven fact that we are a rooty-poot organization with no commitment to building an all-pro offensive line, the logical mind is faced with certain absolute restrictions regarding what sort of QB we may and may not select in the draft and free agency. Specifically, the organization is restricted to fast, evasive, athletic, running quarterbacks. As a rooty-poot organization with no line, you also need quarterbacks (plural) that are highly robust mesomorphs who, like Timex, have proven that they can take a licking and keep on ticking.

This means guys like Tim Tebow... and maybe Michael Vick. Alone among QB candidates in the 2010 draft, Tebow had the unique combo of winning-character, muscle mass, speed, running ability, toughness and evasiveness to make him successful with the Rams. Tebow was never really on Devaney's radar. This speaks volumes about Devaney.

Given the robust fact that we are a rooty-poot organization with no commitment to building an all-pro offensive line, there are certain fruits that are absolutely forbidden to us. Namely, we cannot take a fragile, injury prone, surgically repaired high-precision passer with questionable ability to take a hit. If you do so, you are one stupid, drunken riverboat gambler throwing paper money (on fire) into the muddy Mississippi.

Given these lawful restrictions, what did Devaney do? He took Sam Bradford. Sam is unquestionably the worst sliding quarterback 'Chucky' Gruden has ever seen. That statement is on video-tape, by the way. He takes a lot of hits, and he gets hurt. Our line will certainly let him take plenty of hits, but maybe his body wont.

So now that Devaney has chosen Sam Bradford what has he done to logistically support that decision? Did he sign Alan Faneca? Did he sign Bobby Bell? Is he trading for Stephen Neal? Did he trade for Jammal Brown? Did he sign Flozel Adams? I could go on folks. The answer is no, no, no, no, no and no. I am tired of making suggestions. Devaney is not entertaining reason at this time. He is not open to reason.

The results are highly predictable. We are going to absolutely destroy a good kid who should have a wonderful NFL career. We are going to destroy Sam Bradford the way we destroyed Marc Bulger. In fact, no sooner had we completed the absolute destruction of Marc Bulger than we began the plot to destroy Sam Bradford.

Mike Mayock says that missing on an absolute #1 picked quarterback will cost you 5 years of lost franchise history. Ram-fans are staring right down the gun barrel at 5 years of lost franchise history. I refuse to go through this. I never signed up for this. I was against it all the way. Right up until the very last split-second, I was hoping Roger Goodell would come to the podium and announce the trade with Cleveland. I had hoped we would accept Mike Holmgren's gracious offer. I am not on-board with this decision, even now.

I want to know who the idiot was who invented the fanciful campaign slogan, "The Rams have to take Sam Bradford; they need a QB to give their players and fans hope for the future." That asshole didn't know anything about the Rams or football.

I don't want this. I don't need this. I don't like this. I was never on-board with this decision. I did not sign off on this decision. I non-concur. If this were the Senate, I would have filibustered this draft pick. I don't intend to watch this carnage. I am not going to witness this travesty unfold. I don't want to see a good kid, in flames, at the hands of a stupid GM. I don't want to be disappointed anymore. I am not going to blow another Sunday morning watching the fiasco in progress. I am resigning.

The first move is to cancel the NFL Super-Fan package. I have DirectTV. I have had the Super-Fan for the past three years: 2007, 2008, 2009. I am scheduled for automatic renewal. It's not going to happen. I am canceling. I don't want it. I don't need it. It's a small token of resistance that will certainly be lost among a slew of cancellations on the second dip of a W shaped recession. It's not much, but it is the best I can do.

Someday soon, I will be able to say with honesty and without venom "I used to be a Ram-fan, but not anymore. Now I am just an impartial football fan. I like the sport, not any particular team".

Very, Very Preliminary predictions about 2010's NFL Playoff Picture

So, I'm going to break my little self-imposed rule, and blog once more about the NFL. I'll blog about Google Android development next time.

Peter King just wrote up his latest NFL Power Rankings. I was little stunned by the graphic. Aaron Rodgers and Steven Jackson were side-by side and the caption said "#1 and #32". My Rams are at the bottom of the rankings, as per usual. But Green Bay at the top?

This was an eye opener. Just yesterday, I made up my chart of projected division winners, and I chose Green Bay to win the North. I wondered if I was bit bullish on a team that gave up 51 sacks last season and had an inconsistent defense. If you listen to Peter King, I may have been a bit conservative. I am glad others see it the way I do.

So here is my reasoning:

NFC

Packers win the North because: They are more talented than the Vikings. The Vikings aren't really as talented as people make them out to be. The Pack get their left tackle back. They got lucky and scored Brian Bulaga in the draft. The defense is in the 2nd year of Dom Capers' system. Favre is really hurt. He is indecisive about surgery. They won't be shit without him. With him, they will have some difficulties matching their success of 2009 against a greatly upgraded NFC North.

The 49ers win the West by default. I believe Leinart will be a good quarterback. The first year of transition from one great QB to another is always a bitch. The Cards will step down; two more losses makes them 8-8. Mike Sandow blogged about this. 10,000 simulations of the NFC 2010 Schedule shows the 49ers winning it by default 73% of the time.

The Cowboys win the East by default. I do not believe the NFC East will be a competitive division in 2010. The Eagles are going through QB transition. They will drop down. The Redskins are going through a total remake. They will not make the playoffs or even win in 2010. The Giants could make the playoffs, but that defense will have to rank higher than 30. It doesn't looks so good for the G-Men defensively. Basically the Cowboys runaway with it, unless my Rams have impregnated them with the poison pill: Alex Barron.

Now for the controversial pick: The Falcons win the South. Nobody repeats as divisional champ in this division. The Saints now have the bullseye on their backs... in more ways than one. The Saints are now going through a Federal DEA investigation on the Vicodin scandal. If Sean Payton gets suspended for 4-6 games, forget it. The title defense is fucked. Peyton is the key to the Saints. His ultra-aggressive game management is the key to their championship style.

The Falcons are a fundamentally sound football team. They have youth, they have experience, they have all-pros, they have role-players, they have offense, they have defense, they have special teams. Basically they have everything you need to be a solid contender.

I pick the Saints and the Vikings to make the Playoffs only as wildcards. One of these teams may get bumped off if the Giants are resurgent defensively.

I pick the Packers and the Cowboys to meet in the NFC title game, but the Falcons may crash the party. I think the Cowboys have to be the mild favorite to win the NFC.

AFC

The Ravens win the North. I don't need to explain this much. The Steelers are dead meat in 2010. The Browns remain dead meat. The Bengals can make this interesting, but I think the Ravens are the prohibitive favorite to win the division and the AFC.

I Pick the Chargers to win the West by default. I am not at all bullish on the Chargers. The Chargers have a 0.000% chance of visiting the Super Bowl or winning the Super Bowl. Why do I say that? Besides a host of issues, I have two words for you: Norv Turner. The Chargers will get in and get out of the playoffs quick: Like a Pinche Vato.

Now for a really interesting pick. I think the Dolphins will win the East. Why? Brandon Marshall will make Chad Henne a ProBowl player. These two will give them a good passing attack for the first time in ages. Marshall will help end the QB nonsense in Miami. The Jets are making splashy Hollywood box-office moves, but they are not that much upgraded. Their upgrades are offset by the loss of Alan Faneca and Thomas Jones, two offensive MVP players for them in 2009. Santonio Holmes cannot even begin to contribute until week 5.

What about the Patriots? As long as they have Belichick and Brady they have a shot! Will you fuck off with that shit already? Do me a favor and shove that saying up your mama's ass. You can say utterly stupid things to fools who don't understand the game of football, but you can't say that to me. It takes a lot more than a coach and QB to win in the NFL. The Patriot Dynasty ended in very early 2008 when the Commish handed the Lombardi to the New York Giants. They are not contenders in 2010. I agree with Mel Kiper's analysis: That Patriot team looked like they had other plans for the afternoon during the playoff loss to the Ravens. They looked disinterested in the process.

Now for another interesting pick: The Houston Texans win the South. I know, they supposedly have the toughest schedule. Watch it soften as the season goes on. That schedule not going to be as tough as you think in 2010. This is a good looking team. I would feel better about this pick if they had selected Mr. Ryan Matthews in the Draft.

So why not the Colts? Aren't the Colts the most powerful team in the AFC? In theory, yes, but they have the Super Bowl looser's jinx upon them. Remember: history teaches us that the looser of the Super Bowl doesn't even make it into the playoffs the next year. If so, they don't end so well. The Cards had the best result in ages, and they still got mauled by the Saints.

The Colts have to beat tall odds to get back to the Super Bowl and win. Nobody has done this since the undefeated Miami Dolphins of 72-73. Skip that. They have to beat tall odds to simply get into the Playoffs and win a game.

I pick the Colts and Jets as the two wildcard teams, but watch for the Bengals to crash the party. Right now, the Ravens are my prohibitive favorite to win the AFC. I mean a 19.5 point favorite to win the AFC Title game. They are very heavy hitters in 2010.

Post-Thoughts

All of this incredibly preliminary. I am talking very, very, very preliminary. I want to see the 1st quarter of every preseason game before I pick my contenders for real. We have to see how 1s-vs-1s look in the 1st quarter of the Pre-Season.

At this point, I can critique my own chart by saying the following: It looks too much like last year's playoff chart. The 49ers and Falcons are new to the picture in the NFC, but nobody else is. The Dolphins and Texans are new to the AFC picture, but nobody else is.

Each year and every year something between 4-6 teams that did not make the playoffs in the year prior make it to the playoffs. The Saints didn't make the playoffs in 2008. They are the Champions now. The Jets hadn't been to the playoffs in years. They went to the AFC title game last season with a rookie QB. The Steelers were the champs in 2008. They did not make it to the playoffs in 2009.

Believe me... I can go on.

My current chart may be a little too conservative in predicting change.