THIS show never ends...

[JLENNELJ]

Linehan out, Dawson in; St. Louis Rams change coaches
The St. Louis Rams have fired Scott Linehan. They would not go into detail on why he was fired but they did it.

They quickly hired a new head coach. New to the NFL, Patrick "Poof" Douglas will take over Linehan's responsibilities. He said that changes will be made.

"I am not going to come in and go all commander. Raymond (Rams owner Raymond P. Goodnight) knows this, Al [Saunders] knows this, and so does Jim [Haslett]. They will call the plays still...just the plays I want. Makes sense, doesn't it? There won't be a problem."

Douglas will be bringing the Run and Shoot offense back into everyone's football lives. "The playbook is tweaked, but the concept remains the same. Versatility and unpredictability are going to be staples of the offense. It's going to be a show...a mobile show that never ends."

Changes will be made to the defensive playbook as well. Douglas is a Buddy Ryan fan and his defensive philosophy reflects that. He runs the 46 defense. "I kind of innovated it from Baltimore defensive coordinator Rex Ryan. I essentially took what I've seen from his playbook and removed anything 3-4. 3-4 is not my style."

The charisma in Poof Douglas is definitely there but are his coaching skills and leadership going to show up too?

Linehan had his opportunities and apparently blew them. Now it's time for Poof Douglas to try and work magic with a team that's been sub-par for a number of years now.

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Coaching Philosophy
QB: I need quickness here. That doesn't necessarily mean speed but we need either a fast QB or one with a fast release, preferably both.

HB: I know it's traditional to have a power RB here but I want one that can do it all, including catch the football.

FB: Fullbacks...are not that important to the offense. But I guess we do need at least 1. He should be a ballcarrier too, maybe even able to shift to HB.

WR: ROUTE RUNNING. Duuuuh!

TE: An athletic, pass catching TE could work here.

T: I want size. I want strength. I want my tackles to ENGULF defensive lineman, not just hold them off.

G: My guards don't need to be vicious like my tackles but they need to be able to block, that's for sure. And not just pass block either.

C: My center is essentially a 3rd guard so the same philosophy applies.

DL: Jim has it right here. Undersized, shifty defensive ends coupled with balanced-out defensive tackles.

OLB: Now, Jim likes fast linebackers and I do too, but we need balance here.

MLB: We will however keep a coverage MLB. They need to be able to fly all over and make tackles more than cover down the field though.

DB: Jim also has it right here. Man cover corners, a centerfielder for a FS, and an enforcer at SS.

ST: Kickers should be accurate and punters should be strong-legged.

As I said in my first press conference, I will let Al and Jim run my offense and defense. It makes me feel like a figurehead but maybe soon, I'll take over.

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Analyzing The Roster
QB: Marc Bulger is on a 6-year/$7.9M contract with a $28M bonus. He's not the type of quarterback I prefer, but there's no getting rid of him either. At least he's accurate and aware on the field.

HB: S-Jax is set to be a free agent next year and I'm not so sure I'll pay to re-sign him with Brian Leonard backing him up. Brian is not only serviceable, but actually a better pass catcher than Steven. Then again, you don't just let 24-year-old elite running backs walk off your team...do you? I'll ask Al what he thinks on this.

FB: Who the hell is Richard Owens?

WR: Torry Holt may have lost some get-up-and-go but he's still an elite receiver in this game and we will show everyone why that is. We need to get him some help though. Isaac Bruce isn't around anymore and if Brandon Williams is our #2 receiver, I don't know what I'll do.

TE: Randy McMichael used to be pretty good back in Miami but in his first year with us, he has slowed down a bit. He is by far out best TE though...not much to choose from.

T: We have two tackles coming off the books: Todd Steussie and Adam Goldberg. Neither are needed as we still have two backups. Orlando Pace is getting up in age like Holt though so we should draft his future replacement soon. Alex Barron is young and continuing to improve.

G: With Milford Brown leaving, we have 2 guards that are better off as backups. Guess what's on our shopping list?

C: After our two centers leave, guess what we'll have left at this position? Dustin Fry. I don't even...

DE: Leonard Little is getting up in age too and other than him, there is not much going for us.

DT: Adam Carriker is going to be a stud for us if he isn't already. Cliff Ryan makes for a good 2nd d-tackle.

OLB: We're only going to have two outside linebackers on the roster come free agency so we need to start looking at future pick-ups.

MLB: Will Witherspoon is one of the leaders of our defense and he's sort of in his prime too. He's not going to get any better it looks like though.

CB: Tye Hill is fast as hell but his coverage skills could be better. We need better corners around him though.

FS: We will probably re-sign O.J. Atogwe and if we don't, we will sign or draft someone to replace him. He is pretty good though and in his prime.

K: We don't even have a kicker

P: Donnie Jones won't get any better but he has a decent enough leg I guess.

[JLENNELJ]

Linebackers Briggs, Dansby among players franchise tagged
Bears ROLB Lance Briggs, Cardinals ROLB Karlos Dansby, New Orleans C Jeff Faine, CB Nnamdi Asomugha of the Raiders, Randy Moss, Albert Haynesworth, Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes, Flozell Adams, and Bengals DE Justin Smith were all tagged on February 17th.

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SIT-DOWN WITH POOF, AL, AND JIM

Poof: Alright boys, what's the plan going into free agency? How do you guys feel about your respective units?

Al: Well, other than guard, I think we are all set. I know you said receiver was an issue, but I think that's impossible with Torry.

Poof: OK, ok...Jim?

Jim: Gotta be outside linebacker and defensive end. And corner...AND free safety if O.J. leaves. Strong safety too.

Poof: Well damn then! So defense is the focus?

Al: (snickers) Seems so

Jim: What's funny?

Poof: Hey now! I need to talk to Ray about what he wanted to do. He is general manager after all.

Jim: (under his breath) Hopefully, not for long...

Poof: Excuse me?

Jim: Nothing

Poof: You sure have a lot of issues. Your side of the ball is jacked up, you don't like your own staff members...I wonder...

Jim: What?

Poof: Oh...nothing.


Rams tender FS O.J. Atogwe
The Rams have placed a level 3 tender on O.J. Atogwe. Any team that wants him will have to give a 1st round pick to St. Louis.

Big-time free agents in this year's crop include left guard Alan Faneca, right tackle Jordan Gross, corners Asante Samuel and Marcus Trufant, FS Eugene Wilson, ROLB Terrell Suggs, and FS Ken Hamlin.

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SIT-DOWN WITH POOF AND RAY

Poof: Alright Ray...tell me what you wanna do? Build through free agency or the upcoming draft? We have the 2nd overall pick you know.

Ray: Yea I know. Well, we have a lot of cap room, almost 40 million. We can sign some guys in free agency and still afford to draft the 2nd overall pick. But will we need to?

Poof: Use the 2nd overall pick?

Ray: Yes

Poof: We'll have to wait and see how free agency goes. No trades you wanted to try, right?

Ray: Right

Poof: OK, then yea, how free agency goes will determine how we use that pick. I'm not afraid to trade down.

Ray: And neither am I...should we...make it known we might trade down?

Poof: ...Yes, yes we should.


Reporter 1: We've heard rumors you guys might trade down with your 2nd overall pick in the 2008 draft? How true is this?

Poof: (shrugs, fails to hide smile) It may be true, it may not.

Reporter 1: Why would you want to trade down?

Poof: (shrugs again) Why not? Look, we have all our options open, laid out on the table. I'm not saying we WILL trade down, but it's a possibility. Teams can start calling if they want but we're not giving anything else away.

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Free agency begins
Free agency kicked off with Asante Samuel being signed by the Atlanta Falcons, a team that needs help all-around. Expect to see them all over the place. The other marquee cornerback of this FA class, former Seahawk Marcus Trufant, was signed by Miami.

The Broncos decide to bid for restricted free agent Marion Barber, risking a 2nd round pick to do so.

Eugene Wilson was signed by the San Francisco 49ers.

Elite left guard Alan Faneca left Pittsburgh to go to the Broncos, who have already been busy during free agency.

Jordan Gross was signed by the Houston Texans at around 7 PM.

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Free Agency, Day 2 and 3
Terrell Suggs has been signed by the Cincinnati Bengals, who will move him to LE.

Ken Hamlin garnered interest from various teams but was eventually signed by the Bills.

Antwan Odom got interest from nearly 20 teams but ended up signing the dotted line with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Former MVP Shaun Alexander may have lost a step but that didn't stop Houston from eagerly signing him.

Michael Turner signed with the Saints while Kawika Mitchell is headed for New England.

The St. Louis Rams brought back receiver Isaac Bruce on a 1-year deal.

LG Stacy Andrews has been signed by Carolina.

In a surprising move, the Rams chose NOT to match the offer for FS O.J. Atogwe. The team cited that they thought it'd be better for him to move on. They would sign right guard Ben Noll though.