Rams Gab

Despite a loss in Super Bowl XLIV, the Colts have the inside track on winning Super Bowl XLV according to bodog.com. The Rams are right now 100/1 to win the SB in the 2010 season. Below are all the odds on all the teams making the Super Bowl in Dallas in 2011:

Indianapolis Colts 13/2
San Diego Chargers 8/1
New England Patriots 10/1
New Orleans Saints 10/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 11/1
Dallas Cowboys 12/1
Green Bay Packers 12/1
Minnesota Vikings 12/1
Philadelphia Eagles 16/1
Baltimore Ravens 20/1
New York Giants 20/1
New York Jets 25/1
Tennessee Titans 25/1
Atlanta Falcons 30/1
Cincinnati Bengals 30/1
Arizona Cardinals 35/1
Chicago Bears 35/1
Houston Texans 35/1
Carolina Panthers 40/1
Miami Dolphins 45/1
San Francisco 49ers 45/1
Seattle Seahawks 45/1
Denver Broncos 50/1
Jacksonville Jaguars 50/1
Washington Redskins 50/1
Buffalo Bills 100/1
Cleveland Browns 100/1
Detroit Lions 100/1
Kansas City Chiefs 100/1
Oakland Raiders 100/1
St. Louis Rams 100/1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 100/1

It is Super Bowl 44 weekend and all of America is buzzing. Who will win? Which quarter back is the greatest? Will we see a foundation laid for the next NFL dynasty or will a newcomer preside instead? All fitting questions for Colts fans, Saints fans, and other band wagon fans, but for avid Ram’s fans other questions are paramount. For starters…Who cares? Who will own us? Who will lead us (on field)?

When I say, “Who cares?” I don’t mean who cares about the Super bowl buzz because we all do. I can’t wait to sit down tomorrow and watch this exciting game. What I mean is who in the Ram’s organization (or in broader strokes the NFL in general) cares about getting the Ram’s healthy? Certainly not Roger Goodell who said the following:

“…the league wants a franchise in St. Louis and wants the Rams to be successful there over the long term. “The changes that Chip (Rosenbloom) and his sister (Lucia Rodriguez) have made, I think are very positive,” Goodell said Friday during his annual state of the league Super Bowl news conference.

Really? I think Roger censored himself. Here is how the statement came across in his head, “I hate the Rams. Actually, I have always hated the Rams so… The changes that Chip (Rosenbloom) and his sister (Lucia Rodriguez) have made, I think are very positive.” The changes which lead the team to a 1-15 season are positive? Really? And since when do we care what the NFL wants? Sure we need rules and guidelines for ownership and assistance in player management issues, but other than that, why does the NFL have an ‘interest’? Last I checked the Rams were attached to the Edward Jones Stadium lease and not the NFL. The NFL needs to shut up and butt out.

When it comes to who owns us… I really don’t care. Except to say I hope it is some one (or a group of some ones) who genuinely cares about football. Having a genuine interest in the history of the Rams organization would be stellar, but I am not going to get my hopes up too high. What I don’t want is the kind of ownership that we currently have; business people who should perhaps be playing the stock market, or the futures market, or the currencies markets (…you get my point). Yes make yourselves some money. I can’t think of any NFL franchises that are losing money. But make your decisions based upon winning games and championships not decisions like devaluating the team so that it will be more likely to sell once our pricey lease goes away.

In terms of who will lead us on the field? It is not rocket science. Here are my tricks to winning:

1) Get a head coach who knows what he’s doing. I don’t think Spag is going anywhere so what I am pleading is for ownership to give him a successful, experienced, and brilliant offensive coordinator. Pleaseeeeeeeeee?

2) Get some good players. (I know my genius incite is killing you.) As we all know, since we were the worst team in the NFL last year we get the #1 college draft pick for next year. We need to milk that baby for as long and wide as we can (not just get a single star player). And there are hundreds of unrestricted free agents entering the 2010 market. All the players we need are out there. The question is does Rams ownership want to win? In 2009 they deliberately and successfully lost.

Ok, that’s all I’ve got. PS I love Isaac Bruce, but we need an experienced receivers coach. Let Bruce hang around and share his winning attitude and maybe in a couple of years give him the gig. Let’s be smart.

Enjoy the Super Bowl!!!

With the Super Bowl just days away, we here at RamsGab.com are giving away a free FLO TV! All you have to do is simply answer the following 20 Super Bowl Trivia questions, and send your answers to matt@nflgridirongab.com

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We will pick a winner and announce it next week here on the site. Enjoy!

1. Where was the first Super Bowl Played between the Packers and Chiefs?

2. Who scored the first touchdown in Super Bowl history?

3. Who is the leading lifetime rusher in Super Bowl history?

4. What team has won the most Super Bowls with 6?

5. Who is the youngest head coach to have ever won a Super Bowl?

6. What wide out caught the game winning TD with less than a minute to go in Super Bowl XXIII?

7. What kicker missed the game-winning field goal in the final seconds of Super Bowl XXV?

8. Where was Super Bowl XX held?

9. Name the four current Franchises that have never been to a Super Bowl

10. Who was the MVP of Super Bowl XVI?

11. What was odd about the first points scored in Super Bowl IX?

12. Where was last years Super Bowl (XLIII) held?

13. Name the four coaches to have lost four Super Bowls

14. What Falcon took back a kickoff for a touchdown in Super Bowl XXXIII?

15. What Colt kicker hit the game-winning kick in Super Bowl V vs Dallas?

16. Who was the MVP of Super Bowl XIV?

17. How many touchdowns did Steve Young throw in Super Bowl XXIX?

18. Who was the coach of the Colts when they lost to the Jets in SB III?

19. Who sang the National Anthem at last years Super Bowl (XLIII)?

20. What WR came up a yard short of the game-tying TD on the final play of Super Bowl XXXIV?

Howard Balzer of the St. Louis Globe-Democrat names Dr. Richard A. Chaifetz as the leader of the Chicago-based bid attempting to purchase 100% of the Rams.

This is good news for St. Louis Rams fans as Dr. Chaifetz is a graduate of Saint Louis University and gave 12 million dollars towards the new SLU Arena that now bears his name.

Balzer names Chaifetz as the leader of the Chicago-based big, but it is still unknown what percentage of the bid is Chaifetz’s money.

Good news for St. Louis-based Rams fans this evening either way.

UPDATE: Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch refutes the story on twitter.

An impeccable source tells me Richard Chaifetz not involved in potential Rams’ sale; not included in final 3 groups still bidding.

Now you can relive all those playoff triumphs of your slightly older brother’s St. Louis Rams!  The NFL has set up a Hulu page and you can re-watch all of the Rams triumphs from 1999 – 2005.  There are a bunch of different games including some regular season, playoff and Super Bowl highlight shows.  Head over to Hulu and check it out.

We can pretend the last 5 years didn’t happen, can’t we?

We’re going to start a semi-regular feature here at Rams Gab, in which we take an anonymous internet comment about the Rams that is so completely ridiculous and then tear it up.  This should be educational and hopefully we will have a little fun in the process.  Leave links and quotes in the comments if you have an internet comment to nominate.

This comment is from “Bo” on the Around the Horns Blog on Stltoday.com. The story in question is about the Rams signing WR Nick Moore, brother of Saints WR Lance Moore.

Oh yippie, who should we sign next? Albert Haynesworth’s brother? The incompetency of Steve Spagnuolo befudles me. He is filling this roster up with scrubs, guess you have to work hard for a 0-16 season. We need to trade our picks to get Mangini in here. He won 5 games with the browns and beat the Steelers, what has Spagnuolo done? Mangini has taken a team to the playoffs and he has experience. Sign Vick and Mangini and hello Superbowl.

Ok, let’s start from the top.  The Rams signed a no-name wide receiver because free agency has not even started yet, so the only players available are the players that weren’t on a team or practice squad when the season ended.  So, the only players available are no-name players!  I’m sorry the Rams aren’t thrilling you with their early February signings, Bo!

Secondly, this signing has nothing to do with Steve Spagnuolo, let alone his “incompetency”.  General Manager Billy Devaney signed this player and even though Spagnuolo probably has some input; the signing and releasing authority lies with Devaney.  The Rams will need to add at least 20 more players via free agency, the draft and post-draft free agency for training camp alone, so some of those guys are going to be “scrubs”.

So much more rant after the jump!

Continue reading Stupid Internet Comment of the Day

The Rams missed out on the CFL rookie of the year, who signed with Philadelphia, so now they are in the hunt for the CFL sack leader, Ricky Foley. The Rams have been in on all three former CFL players (including Foley) who have taken interest from NFL teams.  Hopefully, the third time will be the charm for the Rams.  Foley led the CFL with 12 sacks last season and the Rams certainly could use a boost to their pass rush with the unknown status of veterans Leonard Little and James Hall.

Foley has already met with the Jets and has meetings scheduled with the Patriots and Rams.

After the jump is a video of Foley from his time at York University.

Continue reading Rams After Another CFL Star

The Rams signed WR Nick Moore, brother of Super Bowl-bound Saints WR Lance Moore to the offseason roster yesterday according to Around the Horns.

Moore bounced between Minnesota and New England in 2009, and will hope to make a name for himself with the busy wide receiver corps.  Moore is 6′2″ and 194 pounds and set a school record with 162 yards in a Toledo 13-10 upset over Michigan.

Moore finished his career at Toledo with 182 receptions for 2045 yards and 13 touchdowns.

With the regular season over and especially after a year like 2009, it is easy to become nostalgic.  It is easy to seek comfort in the memory of former Ram’s greats like Kurt Warner, Eric Dickerson, Deacon Jones, Merlin Olsen, and even as far back as Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch.

Hirsch was a flamboyant type of player that the Rams could really use today.  He passed away 6 years ago last month.  This is from his obituary:

MADISON, Wis. — Elroy “Crazy Legs” Hirsch, an NFL Hall of Famer who earned his nickname for an erratic on-field running style, died Wednesday of natural causes at an assisted living facility. He was 80.

Mr. Hirsch was a halfback and receiver for the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams from 1949 to 1957. Before that, he played for the Chicago Rockets of the All-America Football Conference. It was as a running back for the University of Wisconsin, however, that Mr. Hirsch earned his nickname. After running 62 yards for a touchdown one afternoon at Soldiers Field, he was described by a sportswriter as running like a “demented duck,” whose “crazy legs were gyrating in six different directions all at the same time.”

From that day on, Mr. Hirsch was known as “Crazy Legs.”

“It was better than being called Elroy,” Mr. Hirsch said many times.

He became one of the NFL’s most exciting players, a key part of the Rams’s revolutionary “three-end” offense in 1949.

His best season was 1951, when he led the NFL with 66 catches, 1,495 yards receiving, and 17 touchdowns. Catching passes from Hall of Fame quarterbacks Bob Waterfield and Norm Van Brocklin, Mr. Hirsch had an average touchdown reception of 47.8 yards.

He was named Pro Player of the Year as the Rams defeated the Cleveland Browns, 24-17, to win the NFL championship.

“Elroy Hirsch was a big star in a town of stars,” NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said in a statement. “He was an electrifying player who brought a lot of glamour to the NFL.”

Mr. Hirsch’s nickname remains one of the most recognizable in football. The Wausau native was inducted into four other halls — college football’s Hall of Fame in 1974, two in his home state, and the University of Michigan’s Hall of Honor.

…”He was an outgoing, fun-loving, popular guy,” said Don Lund, who played football, basketball, and baseball with Mr. Hirsch at Michigan. “Everything about him as a man and an athlete was outstanding.”

By JR Ross, Associated Press  |  January 31, 2004

In a time of dog fighting, illegal arms arrests, battery charges, and outrageous salaries, it is good to remember the guys who did it right.  It is good to look at Ram’s greats from the past and dream about the future.

Bernie Miklasz updates the Rams ownership situation today with some new nuggets and information to put together the information we have received from several other outlets.

First and foremost, there are still 3 bids in play, contradicting Howard Balzer’s report from this week.  Bernie names Dave Checketts as the St. Louis bid’s white knight, as we knew.  The other interesting name that has been frequented around Rams Gab has been Gerald Ford, Texas billionaire.  We speculated that Ford had one of the other bids for the Rams, but it turns out that Checketts has brought Ford into the fold in his bid as the money man.  That’s a fantastic move by Checketts and one that does not reek of desperation like his move to add Rush Limbaugh as the money man.  However, Checketts bid is still only for 60% of the franchise and would rely on Stan Kroenke staying on as 40% owner.

Bernie could not get solid information on the other two bidders, but places one in Toronto and the other possibly in Chicago.

Chicago has a bunch of people capable of purchasing the Rams including: Joe Mansueto, owner of Morningstar, the Pritzker family, a Chicago hotel mogul family, Patrick Ryan who was the chair of the Chicago 2016 Olympic bid, Neil Bluhm who is the president of Midwest Gaming and Kenneth Griffen, CEO of the Citadel Investment Group.  Patrick Ryan and Neil Bluhm have ties already to sports, but that does not rule out even other people that I have not listed.  More importantly, would a Chicago-based owner be willing to keep the team in St. Louis?  That is an unknown at this point except each bidder said they would try to keep the Rams in St. Louis as a condition of their bid.

The Toronto bid would probably spell doom for the St. Louis Rams as Toronto has been borrowing the Buffalo Bills and would love their own NFL franchise.