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To create nearly $8 million in salary cap space, the St. Louis Rams released seven-time Pro Bowl receiver Torry Holt today. Torry was one of the few remaining players from the Rams’ glory days — aka “The Greatest Show on Turf.” Ironically, one of the other remaining players, tackle Orlando Pace, was also released this week. That leaves only defensive end Leonard Little and quarterback Marc Bulger from the team that lost Super Bowl XXXVI to the Patriots. Owner Chip Rosenbloom said the decision wasn’t an easy one:

“The Rams will forever be grateful for the way Torry Holt represented the Rams on the field and in the community. Over the past 10 seasons Torry has proven himself to be one of the finest wide receivers in league history. This is a difficult decision because Torry has meant so much to the organization.”

Torry was one of the first players I interviewed when I began my NFL writing career back in 1999. He was the 6th overall pick in the NFL Draft that year. And he’s played in all but two games for the Rams since then. I think you find a way to keep this guy on your team. No matter what kind of rebuilding excuse you have, it makes no sense to get rid of your best offensive weapon. Torry led the Rams in receptions (64) in what was a miserable 2008 season. Of course, he’s spent most of his career leading the Rams in receptions. And Torry ranks 11th in NFL history with 869 receptions and he’s 14th overall with 12,660 receiving yards. To top it off, his 80.1 yards-per-game career receiving average is the best in NFL history. So, its the Rams loss. And forget T.J. Houshmandzadeh (who signed with the Seattle Seahawks a couple weeks ago). Torry Holt has suddenly becoming the most sought after free agent receiver this offseason (if you were compiling the entire list of free agents this offseason). I believe this is a guy who has five more years of great production and any receiver-needy team should be knocking down his door.

Source: StLouisRams.com, Photo: Newscom

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Rams Release Torry Holt

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The St. Louis Rams unloaded the foundation (literally) of their offensive line for the past 12 seasons today. To clear some much needed space under the salary cap ($6 million, in fact), left tackle Orlando Pace was released. Rams Owner/Chairman Chip Rosenbloom made the following statement today:

“I can’t begin to thank Orlando for all he has meant to the Rams organization, since we selected him with the first overall pick in the 1997 draft. It is never easy to end a relationship that has had as much success as ours, but in the best interest of Orlando and the Rams, we feel now is the right time. As a Super Bowl Champion and seven-time Pro Bowler, he has been a true professional and will always go down as one of the finest Rams of all time. We wish him, Carla and their children the very best as they move onto the next chapter of their football journey.”

Is there really going to be another chapter in Orlando’s football journey? Twelve years of playing left tackle at 325 pounds has taken its toll. Orlando had season-ending injuries in 2006 and 2007 that limited him to nine games in each those two years. Granted, he did manage to play in 14 games last season, but he’s 33-years-old and I don’t know if attempting more football at this point makes much sense. I believe if there’s a market for him — if there’s money to be made and he feels up to it, we’ll see him in another uniform in 2009. Otherwise, he has nothing left to prove. He can chill for five years and get ready for his Hall of Fame induction. Because that’s where he belongs.

Source: StLouisRams.com, Photo: Newscom

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Rams Release Orlando Pace

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The St. Louis Rams have hired former N.Y. Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo as their head coach. Coach Spags has certainly earned this opportunity. After spending eight seasons working with Jim Johnson on Philadelphia’s defense (defensive assistant, defensive backs coach and linebackers coach), he became the Giants’ defensive coordinator and spent the past two seasons impressing with his trademark creative blitz schemes. Of course, those very schemes helped the Giants win the Super Bowl last season, but New York finished 5th in total defense this season — most impressive considering Michael Strahan retired and Osi Umenyiora’s season ended before it got started due to injury. Coach Spags is a “players coach” and I expect he’ll quickly help the Rams to rebound from a miserable 2-14 season.

Source: StLouisRams.com, Photo: Newscom

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Rams Name Steve Spagnuolo Head Coach

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With this afternoon’s surprising 34-14 win over the Dallas Cowboys, the St. Louis Rams are now — amazingly — a team to watch out for in the NFC. Just three weeks ago, the Rams were in total disarray at 0-4 and, without question, they were playing the worst football of any NFL team. After dismissing then-head coach Scott Linehan, the Rams named defensive coordinator Jim Haslett the interim head coach and he has not only submitted a strong bid to serve as the future head coach of the Rams, he has put his winning stamp on the entire organization in just two short weeks:

“As a coaching staff, I told our guys our job is to change the culture. Maybe we get a shot here, maybe we get a shot somewhere else. If nothing else, I want to leave the building in better shape, and if the team does sell, the (new owner) feels better about it, the city feels better about and the players feel better about how they stand in the community ….. It’s not just players that win championships, organizations win. I asked them to come eat with the coaches, the players, come to practice ….. Let’s have some fun and be positive. We have to change the culture. If we have anybody who gets negative around here, I want them fired.”

I like coach Haslett’s style. The question that remains is whether the Rams can maintain this pace. I know they just beat the Redskins and Cowboys back-to-back, but are they really this talented? At 2-4, they’re tied for second place in the NFC West, only two games behind the Cardinals. And they still play the Cards twice. It could be shaping up for a wild finish in the STL.

Source: ESPN.com, Photo: Newscom

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Jim Haslett Changing Culture in St. Louis

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As expected/predicted, the St. Louis Rams fired head coach Scott Linehan today. Owner Chip Rosenbloom named defensive coordinator Jim Haslett the interim coach and released a statement saying coach Linehan’s firing was a very difficult decision to make:

“I have enormous respect for Scott Linehan as a person and believe under the right circumstances he will be regarded one day as a fine head coach. Unfortunately, the situation with the Rams as they exist today is no longer acceptable and we have to make a change. We do this with a heavy heart, and we thank Scott for his efforts and dedication on behalf of the Rams. By appointing the well-respected Jim Haslett as our head coach, we are making an interim move that we hope will make the Rams winners again.”

In just over two seasons as head coach of the Rams, coach Linehan posted an unimpressive 11-25 record. Yesterday’s loss to Buffalo dropped the Rams to 0-4 for the second consecutive season. There was dissension and finger pointing in the locker room — even from the leaders of this team (Torry Holt and Steven Jackson) — and once starting quarterback and team captain Marc Bulger was mysteriously benched in favor of Trent Green, I knew the end for coach Linehan was inevitable. After all, the National Football League is a business about winning. And coach Linehan wasn’t. Coach Haslett, on the other hand, will begin his second run as a head coach. He led the New Orleans Saints for six seasons, winning 45 games including the Saints first ever playoff win (ironically against the Rams) in 2000.

Source: StLouisRams.com, Photo: Newscom

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Rams Fire Head Coach Scott Linehan

It’s been a busy week for the St. Louis Rams. In an attempt to shake-up the organization after an 0-3 start, the team released starting cornerback Fakhir Brown and then demoted quarterback Marc Bulger in favor of veteran backup Trent Green on Wednesday. Both were unusual moves, especially benching Marc. Running back Steven Jackson (arguably the Rams best player) was vocal about his displeasure on a St. Louis radio station last night, saying it was the “wrong decision” to bench Marc and that you don’t pay someone “$60-something million” and then sit him on the bench.

Steven’s right. The Rams woes are not Marc Bulger’s fault. He needs time to throw the football. Even receiver Torry Holt pointed to the offensive line last week before the Rams went out and got blasted by the Seattle Seahawks. But whoever’s fault it is, head coach Scott Linehan is on the verge of losing this team. With all the finger-pointing and turmoil surrounding the Rams and with the losses piling up and the undefeated Buffalo Bills next on the sked, coach Linehan might find his spot in the unemployment line before Lane Kiffin.

Source: STLtoday.com

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Steven Jackson Upset About QB Switch

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The St. Louis Rams stink. And wide receiver Torry Holt blames the offensive line for his team’s pathetic 0-2 start to this 2008 season. Not only are the Rams struggling, they’re dead last statistically on both sides of the ball. But let’s focus on the offense for this particular post. Torry is one of the few remaining players from the “Greatest Show on Turf” Rams that included Super Bowl glories and future Hall of Fame players like Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk and Isaac Bruce. So he inherited great talent around him since he entered the league as a rookie back in 1999. And he’s not happy about losing:

“Those guys, the offensive line guys, have to continue to take more pride in what they’re doing to keep the quarterback clean. I can stand here and say what needs to be done and who needs to do what, but that’s not going to solve anything. It’s going to come down to the guys up front that’s protecting Marc and giving Steven (Jackson) running lanes and giving us time to get open in the secondary to make things happen. They have to continue to take a stronger initiative, a more sense of urgency to keep No. 10 off his back. If he continues to get smacked around, we won’t be seeing No. 10 for long.”

Torry is one of the leaders of this team and when something needs to be said, aside from the coaches, he should be one of the players saying it. You’ll notice he said “continue to take more pride in what they’re doing” and “continue to take a stronger initiative.” He’s giving them the benefit of the doubt and the O-line should figure out that Torry’s right and they need to lead the way as the foundation of the offense. I don’t care how good your “skill players” (I hate that term) are, without an offensive line to both protect the quarterback and open lanes for the running backs, it’s setting up a long season for any team. The Rams may not have the talent they had during their Super Bowl years, but they have enough to be better than the worst team in the NFL.

Source: STLtoday.com, Photo: Newscom

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Torry Holt Calls Out Offensive Line

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St. Louis Rams running back Steven Jackson will end his training camp holdout and report to the team tomorrow. Steven is entering the final year of a five-year, $7 million deal he signed as a first-round pick in 2004 but he turned down an offer from the Rams that would’ve put him among the highest paid at his position. Apparently, he wants to land a bigger-money deal before further exposing himself to the league’s harsh defensive elements. The Rams said they would not negotiate with Steven until he reported. So he’s reporting. No deal is in place yet, but head coach Scott Linehan is optimistic:

“This is certainly a step in the right direction. We’re hoping we can get this thing squared away real quickly.”

Steven is scheduled for a physical tomorrow morning and could make it onto the practice field as early as 10:30 a.m. CT. Simply put, the Rams desperately need Steven as part of their offense. Quarterback Marc Bulger seems to have all the other pieces in place after last year’s injury riddled debacle. Nearly the entire starting offensive line was hurt. And Marc ended up looking worse for the wear as a result. He was a car wreck. Now the O-line is healthy and adding Steven to the offensive equation will obviously make this team a whole lot better. Spoilers for sure. Wild card playoff caliber? Quite possibly.

Source: NFL.com, Photo: Newscom

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Steven Jackson to End Holdout

Where have the past three weeks gone? Team are already breaking training camp and at Concordia University where the St. Louis Rams call home, running back Steven Jackson was a 20-day no-show. His unhappy, contract-related absence has amounted to more than $300,000 in fines thus far. And no evidence of any real progress in talks between the two sides has been made. The Rams suspended negotiations when Steven didn’t show up for camp. I’ve seen the very same situation before, of course, and it behooves the player to actually be on-location to get anything done. Report. Negotiate. New deal. It doesn’t always work that way, but Steven’s losing too much money to not consider that option. And just a sidebar here — if Steven reports by Week Ten, he’ll get credit for the fifth and final year of his contract, and he’ll be eligible for unrestricted free agency in March 2009. Week 10? Uggh.

Source: NFL.com

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Rams Break Camp Without Steven Jackson

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The St. Louis Rams agreed to terms on a three-year deal with rookie wide receiver Keenan Burton yesterday. Keenan was a fourth round pick out of Kentucky. He’s expected to make an immediate impact for the Rams after a great college career where after 45 games, he finished fourth in Kentucky history in catches, third in receiving yards, second in touchdowns and third in all purpose yards. Injuries kept him from being drafted higher so durability is a concern. But VP of Player Personnel Billy Devaney is optimistic:

“He fits the mold we have been stressing. Now we have some depth at wide out and it has put us in a position where there is going to be great competition once we get to training camp.”

Keenan will go camping with Torry Holt, Drew Bennett, Dane Looker, Dante Hall, Marques Hagans, Reche Caldwell, Eric Fowler, Derek Stanley and Brandon Williams — not exactly the Greatest Show on Turf on paper. But with Marc Bulger at quarterback, Keenan will be a welcome addition. He’s the the third member of this year’s Rams Draft class to sign, following fifth round guard Roy Schuening and third round tackle John Greco.

Source: StLouisRams.com

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Rams Sign Rookie Receiver Keenan Burton