The Watchdog Posts

In light of recent comments by Marshall Faulk, coupled with recent news about the Rams interest in offering Stephen Davis another year tender - it's hard not to sit back and dream a bit about an unprecedented legendary scenario that could actually come to pass this year in St. Louis.

Picture if you will ...

"Marc Bulger leans in to take the snap - he rolls out to the right in an option and pitches the ball to Stephen Davis - he's gonna throw it - he's got Marshall Faulk on an out pattern, he laterals back to Jackson who's got blockers - and down the sideline he goes and no one even wants to think about getting in front of that load of dreadlocks. One man to beat, and Jackson puts a stiff-arm to the chest of the defender - and no ones stopping to count the bodies baby - ring up six for the good guys."

Ahhh, I have to calm down. Okay I'm better now.

As much of a fantasy as that play is, the pieces of that puzzle could very well fall into place this year and the Rams could have the most talented and tantalizing backfield in NFL history.

Steven Jackson - The most exciting young all-purpose back to come along in years.

Stephen Davis - NFL rushing leader and three time Pro-Bowler with nearly 9,000 rushing yards and counting.

Marshall Faulk - MVP, future Hall of Famer, plus dozens more accolades that would take too much room to fit in this small blog.

Just the mentoring and leadership of having Faulk back on the Rams sidelines would be so huge to the many youngsters on the squad - you can't buy that kind of motivation at any price.

Then throw in the small detail of another pair of future Hall of Fame receivers in Isaac Bruce, and Torry Holt, and the anticipation starts to lead one's head into the clouds.

A few defensive pieces to boot and next year's team could really be one for the picture books.

Here's to next year baby.

GO RAMS!!

You can see it in his eyes whenever the subject is brought up, though just seeing his body language is enough to tell the truth that shines like a beacon in his eyes; that unmistakable twinkle akin to a child staring up at the ice cream man.

When St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports writer Bryan Burwell got a moment to sit down and talk with the long-familiar subject from his years of beat writing in St. Louis, there were no brave-faced structured answers, but rather more of unguarded candor.

And then came probably the most repeated question one man has ever had to endure, and of course he knew it was coming.

"Will you play again?"

He smiled when he heard the question and nodded his head. Faulk wants to come back because he hasn't exhausted his love for the game. He doesn't want to be one of these guys who retires and then a few years later wonders if he left too early.

"I don't know," he said with a sly smirk. "It's all health-related. I have my good days, and I have my bad days."

Faulk has not played football in more than a year. He had minor surgery on both of his knees about a year ago. "Clean up" surgery, he called it. But his left knee did not respond, and he missed the Rams' mini-camps and off-season workouts. Then he had reconstruction on the left knee in August, forcing him to sit out the 2006 season.

Everyone thought his 12-year playing career was over. Everyone, that is, except Faulk

But even if he does decide to give it another go, what role would he fill in St. Louis, where he is arguably the best player in Rams history?

"That's up to Scott (Linehan)," Faulk said. "He has to decide what he wants to do."

Faulk says he wouldn't go anywhere else. It's the Rams or nothing, even if Mike Martz calls.

"I love Mike," he said, laughing, "I really do. But Mike doesn't own any team, does he? So that's the end of that."

God bless Mike Martz for what he has done for the St. Louis Rams, but seeing Marshall Faulk sporting a Lions jersey?

That just would be wrong.

Last year when Scott Linehan first began assembling his staff, he had a vision of the names he wanted to see on his payroll. That list originally included a man be the name of Al Roberts. But Linehan was unable to coax his target out of the Northwest and into St. Louis.

But this year Linehan finally got his man, and this year Roberts will try his hand at figuring out what has over the last few years become a Special Teams nightmare in St. Louis where the Rams have finished at or near the bottom in every category since 2004. The Rams couldn't get Bob Ligashesky out the door fast enough, and the former Special Teams coach was hired immediately by the Steelers.

An old pro with many years of NFL experience, Roberts was contented and happy with the position he has held for four years; coaching an inner-city football team at Garfield High School in Seattle. But this year Roberts will be back in the big-leagues for another go for the first time since his coaching days with Cincinnati.

Stltoday.com

Roberts was with the Bengals from 1997-2002, but when Marvin Lewis took over as Bengals coach in '03, he brought in his own special teams coach.

Roberts also worked in the NFL with the Cardinals (1994-95), the Jets (1991-93), the Eagles (1988-90), and the Houston Oilers (1984-85).

The Rams also hired Mike Cox, who will replace Joe Baker as Linebackers Coach this year. It will be his first stint in the NFL after working the same job at Michigan State for the last four years.

Even when you get down to the numbers, letting Mike Furrey go on down the Free Agent pathway was a mistake. Forget the re-structure effort; forget the visions of a new grandeur as justification from first-year Coach Scott Linehan. Forget if you can what a blessing Furrey was to the St. Louis Rams.

Good luck with that.

Furrey traveled the outcast pathway along with Mike Martz to Detroit before the beginning of last year and in doing so joined the likes of Ricky Proehl and London Fletcher as some of the biggest boo-boos by Ram hierarchy in letting key personnel get away. And soon to join that list will be another super-hot burning spark plug by the name of Kevin Curtis, who likely will join the Lions receiving corps in 2007 - and flourish in much the same way Furrey did.

Furrey was a huge fan favorite in St. Louis and it wasn't because he was any kind of a diva or even a big play guy. But he, much like Proehl played his heart out every single down and always seemed to be in the right place at the right time in the clutch, and always made the most of his chances.

I for one knew from the very moment I heard he was off to Detroit that he was going to be a huge impact in Mike Martz gun-slinging offensive ways. And his 98 catches this year was tops in the land and you know what? It couldn't have happened to a nicer, more deserving guy.

So congratulations to you Mike Furrey for finally getting the corporate respect you have deserved for a long, long time. This guy's throttle is stuck wide open, and I still scratch my head when I try to understand why in the world the Rams ever let him go. But players like him are too few in this league.

I wish him many more star studded seasons like '06

Rams special teams coach Bob Ligashesky spared no horse-power getting himself set up with another gig in Pittsburgh.

The ink on the pink-slip barely had time to dry when the Steelers announced him as their newest addition to join Ken Whisenhunt in Pittsburgh's own revolving hierarchy.

Rams Coach Scott Linehan officially let Ligashesky go on Thursday, but the fact that he interviewed two unnamed candidates at this year's Senior Bowl is evidence that the decision was actually made long ago.

Stltoday.com

"He's a good coach with a bright future," Linehan said Thursday. "But we need to make some improvements on special teams. Sometimes change is good for both parties."

Ligashesky, 44, is a Pittsburgh native who played football at Indiana (Pa.) University and coached at the University of Pittsburgh from 2000-03.

Not much comparison really.

When you think of the representatives of an entire football conference in the Superbowl, you would think that you are looking at the best of the best, at least when you're talking about the key play-makers. And what player is more a key to a team than their quarterback?

Of course there is much more to a "team" than just one player, and in the case of the NFC representative Chicago Bears, there are many key players. It doesn't just come down to one MVP.

Obviously.

So what does it take to be a QB these days in the big show? Not much more than it took to be Billy Carter, wayward brother to an American president.

So I thought I'd take a look at a little side-by-side comparison of the Bear's Rex Grossman and the 8-8 Rams QB Marc Bulger.

Rex Grossman started all 16 games this year, completing 54.6 percent of his passes for 3,193 yards. Not bad. Marc Bulger also started 16 games this year, completing 62.9 percent for 4,301yards.

In a championship year, Rex had 7 games with a QB rating over 100. Bulger had 8. But Train-Rex also had 3 games with a rating of not more than 10.2, while Bulgers lowest rating of the year was a 55.9.

Grossman threw 20 interceptions this year; Bulger threw 8.

Bulger is going to the Pro-Bowl, because he deserves it; Grossman's going to the Super-bowl on a free pass and a note from his mother.

The difference is Grossman's defense bailed him out this year while Bulger spent most of the year trying to bail out his defense.

So apparently you don't necessarily have to do anything but show up in uniform in some cases. But come Sunday when Rex faces off with a real quarterback in Peyton Manning, there will be no more coddling.

Colts - 33 Bears - 17

Maybe the real reason Tyoka Jackson left the Rams at the end of last year didn't have anything to do with broadening his horizons. Maybe he just got sick of scruffy flight attendants getting in his face on flights into St. Louis.

StlToday.com:

A male flight attendant filed a million-dollar lawsuit this week against Tyoka Jackson, claiming the former Rams football player knocked him across an airplane two years ago as it approached St. Louis.

After flight attendant Gary Rihn repeatedly asked Jackson to stow his carry-on bag, Jackson shoved Rihn so hard that he was knocked across the aisle and landed, feet in the air, against another passenger, according to a Federal Aviation Administration letter that proposed a $20,500 fine for Jackson.

Tyoka's lawyer Tom Magee call B.S. saying that Rihn poked him with his finger and harassed him when he chose to keep his bag under his seat, obviously so he could protect it from the evil man-waitress.

It has also been suggested that maybe the plane's in-flight movie "Meet the Parents" with Ben Stiller might have put paranoid ideas into the former Ram-lineman's head.

Stewardess: Sir you will have to stow your bag before we can take off.

Stiller: It's my bag and I don't have to give it to you. You people lost my bag last time and just about ruined my life, so I'm keeping my bag right here with me - step off bitch!

Rihn's lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, asks for $250,000 in actual damages and $750,000 in punitive damages. Rihn's wife, Bonita Rihn, asks for $200,000 more, for "loss of consortium."

The suit says Jackson injured Rihn's head, shoulder, arm, knee and back and cost him over $6,300 so far on medical expenses. The suit says Rihn also suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome.

Being christened as the new savior of Ram-Nation doesn't come without a huge price tag, and Steven Jackson will be paying from day one. With the order of execution still yet to be determined, one thing we know for sure is that the road in 2007 will be anything but peace and tranquility.

The Rams, other than visiting the obligatory divisional stadiums (and that in itself will be a whole new and wild animal in '07) will be heading off to some of the most unfriendly confines with some of the most up-and-coming teams the league.

New Orleans Saints - These guys were the upstarts of '06, but were hardly a flash in the pan. They will be returning the future MVP of someday, Reggie Bush, along with Drew Brees and Coach of the Year Sean Payton. It will mark the first visit back to the Superdome for Jim Haslett. One more year after Katrina, but the Saints are and still will be the lifeblood of the people. There will be no friends to be made on this Sunday.

Cincinnati Bengals - They fell short last year, but Carson Palmer is still the most fundamentally sound Quarterback in the league. Chad Johnson, the NFL's second favorite diva will be healthy and Rudi will be running. We better hope the Rams have a defensive unit put together and in full motion on this day.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Not quite the unit they wanted to be. But you can rest assured that Jon Gruden will not be coach of and underachieving team for very long. And with the history of any Rams team in South Florida, this has all the makings of a trap game at any point in the season.

Baltimore Ravens - What else is there to say here but "Oh crap!" Easily the Rams toughest game of the year. Legendary defense that never seems to give anything but the same hard time to the entire league every year since the turn of the century. And now they actually have a quarterback in Steve McNair. So what if he looks like Hootie from the Blowfish; it doesn't take much when you have a stingy attack like that. Yikes on this day.

So you can see that 2007 won't be any friendlier to the Rams than '06. The only equalizer will be how the Rams prepare for the league in their free agent and draft performances.

Either way, the whole deal will ride on the back-and the legs- of Steven Jackson this year. Let's hope he can bring it like he did last year.

When Bill Cowher officially retired there was much speculation in St. Louis that Jim Haslett wanted his name in the pool of potential Head Coach candidates. This led to much criticism on his level of dedication to his own still new job as Defensive Coordinator with the Rams.

Haslett took alot of second-guessing by media and fans alike in Ram-Nation - and why shouldn't he? Even before the ink was dry on the last box-score of the season, the rumors of his departure we already circulating.

But now it appears Haslett has put those rumors to bed and says he wants nothing more than to see his family and get back to work.

Audio clip:

"Every association has it's own agenda, they're looking for certain types of people. And who knows, with the right situation anything can happen. But right now I'm enjoying my time here. I haven't seen my family in about a year and a half with this situation and the situation in New Orleans last year, and I'm just looking forward to spending some time with them and then getting back to work here."

This Rams defense has come a long way, but obviously still is very much a work in progress. It's nice to hear that Haslett wants to keep his focus on continuing the defensive rebuild.

God knows it needs more attention.