You can see my answers to his questions here.1. The Rams already handed the Raiders their worst loss in franchise history last season. Now they add Nick Foles who two seasons ago set the record for most touchdowns passes thrown (7) against the Raiders. And they have Howie's son Chris tearing it up. I guess my question is, why are the Rams trying so hard to beat the Raiders and rub it in their faces?
Because the Rams can't beat anyone else. They're 3-1 against you guys in the last four (none of the games before that count, I promise. No talk of the 2-7 head-to-head games before if you please), though the 2010 loss certainly stings in retrospect. More than anything, I like this idea of the Rams being a decent franchise. You are a nice person, Levi Damien.
2. Since we are obviously going to see a lot of the backups in this game, which of the Rams reserves do you think we should be looking out for on both offense and defense?
Well, I think we'll have to see how Fisher stacks up the actual depth chart. I have no idea how the offensive line is going to shake out; we're not even entirely sure who the starting center is. So the second team is a huge wash. I'd be interested in OTs Andrew Donnal and Isaiah Battle. Donnal was the Rams' fourth-round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, and Battle required the Rams' 2016 fifth-rounder in the supplemental draft not too long ago. Defensively, the line depth beyond the major names is going to have to show out to have a shot at the final roster. So the second half could have some spirited guys up front for the Rams like Martin Ifedi or Louis Trinca-Pasat. And I really like what the Rams did to shore up the linebacking depth. It's been a position they haven't staffed well behind the front three, but I like who they have on the 90-man right now with Cameron Lynch and Bryce Hager.
3. How is rejected Raiders hopeful Rodger Saffold been doing?
He's not a superstar, but he'll be in the league another five years at least. When he's healthy, he's a plus player who offers versatility at both guard and tackle spots. He's a not the highlight of the line, especially with new top investments, but he doesn't have to be. The real issue for him is avoiding injury. He missed 17 games from 2011-13, but made it through last year playing in every game. If that's indicative of his reliability, that will sooth Rams fans' concerns.
4. I understand the Rams have some similar unproven offensive line talent to what the Raiders have on their right side. What are the goods on those guys?
Yeah, it's just an unknown commodity with RG Jamon Brown and RT Rob Havenstein. They were the Rams' third-round and second-round picks from the 2015 NFL Draft, respectively, so we haven't seen them full go. The key is that both specialized in more physical blocking attacks, Brown at Louisville and Havenstein at Wisconsin. They fit the mold of what the Rams are trying to build with a physical, punishing rushing attack. I'm eager to see how they look, but hesitant to offer any legitimate projections.
5. Since these two teams are at the heart of relocation talk, what's the word out of STL? One of the things that has been on my mind for a while is how the NFL can justify allowing Stan Kroenke to move the Rams when he clearly has not fulfilled the "must make effort to remain in current market" portion of the relocation bid. Kroenke has been downright brazen about wanting to take the Rams out of St Louis no matter how much the city bends over backwards to keep them. What is the buzz from the Gateway city?
It's strange. St .Louis has a very workable stadium proposal, one that understandably came too late after Kroenke began executing operations on his Inglewood stadium. As far as the NFL rules go...we just the commissioner try to suspend a player for four games for (a) something he has no trial-ready concrete evidence of and (b) something the NFL already has a rule on that says tampering with balls is just a $25,000 fine. Goodell gonna do whatever Goodell wanna do. The rules don't really apply hard and fast. What's strange to me is how this escalated.
The Rams wanted a $700m renovation of the Edward Jones Dome. The governing authority for the site, which manages more than the football stadium, offered a $125 million renovation. Then Kroenke proposes his Inglewood stadium at a cost of just under $2 billion. The city of St. Louis' stadium plan will cost just under $1 billion. I understand the nature of lowball negotiating tactics early on, but this just seems like a ridiculously poor waste of time in the years prior to this offseason.
You can see my answers to his questions here.
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