The NFL and Owner Stan Kroenke Do St. Louis and Rams Fans Wrong

Stan Kroenke

St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke and the NFL decided to move the St. Louis Rams to Los Angeles.  This wasn't done this week.  It is very obvious by the actions of owner Stan Kroenke and when Roger Goodell tipped his hand this week with the letter he sent to owners.  Is there anything wrong with that?  At it's core, no.  But the way this whole thing was handled is completely and utterly unfair to St. Louis, the state, and the fans.  Stan Kroenke hasn't spoken to fans or given interviews concerning the Rams in years.  All the while he purchased land in Los Angeles and made his plans.  At some point it would have been the right thing to do to speak out on the topic while the city and fans fretted over the possible loss of their NFL franchise.  But he never did.

The city of St. Louis was allowed to come up with a very good stadium proposal working through all the hoops concerning land, funding and bureaucracy.  It wasn't an easy journey for anyone involved.  And while St. Louis came up with a proposal neither San Diego nor Oakland have stadium plans in place.  This seemed to make it look good for the teams from those cities moving while keeping the Rams in St. Louis.  On the surface anyway. 

This week when the owners met to vote we heard the relocation committee recommended Oakland and San Diego move.  We also heard there were other owners who either didn't like Kroenke or the idea of the Rams being allowed to move while St. Louis had a viable stadium option on the table.  That all soon unraveled.  The first vote quickly showed owners were on board with the Rams moving.  Then they were approved by a 30-2 vote. 

Again, a team moving to another city because they can make more money is at it's core not wrong.  How the league let the city of St. Louis drift in the wind for the last two years when they had no chance of keeping their team is downright wrong.  It was a sham.  How can you say otherwise?  Looking at the NFL bylaws on relocation and the stadium proposal it is hard to believe Kroenke met all the requirements.  I am disgusted by how this was handled.  Kroenke shut out the city and the fans.  Completely silent for years not giving any hint while going behind their back.  Not engaging them in an true discussions on how to keep the Rams in St. Louis.  And Roger Goodell let it happen.  How do you run a league seeing an owner doing this, and say yeah that is ok.  I have lost so much respect for the NFL and Goodell.  I have had none for Stan Kroenke for quite a while.  He has to rank up there as one of the worst owners ever in this league. 

Enough with that.  So the Rams are leaving.  Ironically they are going back to Los Angeles whom St. Louis "stole" the team from 20+ years ago.  Interesting side note.  The Rams actually started in Cleveland playing eight years and won the NFL Championship in 1945 before they moved to Los Angeles after that season.  I get all the reasons why this can be good.  Those Rams fans who are still in Los Angeles will be ecstatic.  Former Los Angeles Rams who are still in California will be able to reconnect with the team and hopefully we'll get to see more of those great older jerseys. 

2013 NFL Draft

I like the draft but definitely am not one of those guys who can watch the entire process.  But it is a great time to get excited about what your teams do and what it may mean for them in the upcoming season.  I'll look at my Bills and Falcons as well as the local boys, the St. Louis Rams.  First if you like this stuff at all you have to be looking at Pro Football reference's website which give you easy links to drafts of the past as well as those for each team.  The best part is with each of those you can easily see how those picks have performed by showing you not only the careers stats for each player but also the number of seasons they were a starter, number of seasons they were named an All-Pro and how many times they went to the Pro Bowl.  Great stuff in an easy format from a great website.  If you aren't using this site then you are missing out.  Here is the link to the drafts - Pro Football Reference Draft Page

 

My philosophy on the draft is this.  Be excited but don't expect the world.  The draft is a crap shoot.  Just look at any draft (I gave you the link above) and you'll see that is true.  Doesn't mean your team won't score big but you have to take it all in in perspective.  No matter how much tape someone watches you'll never know for sure how good these guys are when they graduate to Sunday football.  But like any fan I'll be excited today for what "might be" this upcoming season. 

 

Atlanta - Atlanta Falcons 2013 Draft Picks

I liked the Falcons moving up to pick cornerback Desmond Trufant.  After losing Brent Grimes and Dunta Robinson this was a huge need which they also addressed in the second round by picking Robert Alford.  From there they took a tight end from Stanford and three defensive players (DE, CB, S) before grabbing a QB.  Overall I think they looked at their needs and addressed them.  Tony Gonzalez will probably retire after this season and they haven't made any big moves to help the defense which lost prominent players in the off season.   This team was very close to making it to the Super Bowl.  I think they needed to be aggressive in the draft and had 11 picks so it isn't a surprise they were.

 

Buffalo - Buffalo Bills 2013 Draft Picks

The biggest "wow" moment of the first round was Buffalo picking EJ Manuel (Florida St.) with the 16th pick.  I don't think anyone was surprised that they traded back (with St. Louis) or that they took a quarterback but I don't think anyone saw them taking Manuel.  I'm not an expert on Manuel or any of the other top quarterbacks.  As a fan I heard much more about Geno Smith and thought that is who they were going to pick.  I just hope Buffalo wasn't wrong on this.  They haven't had a steady quarterback situation since Jim Kelly retired forever ago.  For now I'll just be excited about it and try not to have too high of expectations for the youngster.  Receiver Robert Woods (USC) was next.  The Bills need someone opposite Stevie Smith and the hope here is Woods is that guy.  Linebacker Kiki Alonso (Oregon), WR Marquise Goodwin (Tex) and safeties Duke Williams (Nevada) and Jonathan Meeks (Clemson) were next and all fill needs.  The secondary needs all kind of help so I was glad to see them go with safeties with back-to-back picks.  Next was the Florida State kicker.  I'm ok with picking a kicker in the draft but only in the later rounds.  These guys are too interchangeable.  The last pick was a tight end/h-back from Arkansas.  Manuel needs as much help as possible so hopefully this will be just that.  Good draft.  Hindsight will tell us if Manuel was the right pick so I'll go with it for now and I'm happy they drafted for needs and picked up some quality players throughout who can hopefully help Buffalo rebuild. 

 

St. Louis Rams - St. Louis Rams 2013 Draft Picks

Great job trading up and picking receiver Tavon Austin out of West Virgina.  QB Sam Bradford lost Danny Amindola to New England this off season and what was left of the receiving corps isn't much to speak of.  They then took linebacker Alec Ogletree (Georgia) with their second pick of the first round.  Another great pick.  He will probably move to the outside backer spot but could be a very good player for years to come.  They went with needs for their last five picks (S, WR, G, CB, RB).  Fans have to be happy.  They've been irritated over the lack of a decent receiving corps for years.  It has probably stunted Bradford's development and clouded the debate on how good a quarterback he really is.  My only question would be why they didn't go offensive line earlier.  They went big with the free agent pick up of tackle Jake Long but that line was horrible.  Still the team had many holes so it is hard to get to picky. 

 

Extra Points:

I agree with many that New England shot themselves in the foot.  With Brady aging it would seem that at some point they would trade up instead of back and try to get impact players who can help get them get over the top.  Hard to argue against a team who is right there every year but the fans must be frustrated...  The Vikes did a great job getting thee picks in the first round which should make an immediate difference in the new season...  No clue why Eddie Lacy fell as far as he did but Green Bay has to be one of the happiest teams out there.  They were able to address the defense in round one and still get a guy many thought as the best running back available...  Jets also benefited from a player falling as they grabbed quarterback Geno Smith on the second day of the draft.  Now they must trim the fat as they have five quarterbacks on the roster. 

 

4th and Inches...NFL 2012 Season Preview

With one game in the books I need to get my thoughts on the upcoming season down.  I'll start with the bounty scandal.  This is so messy and just needs to go away.  With the panel overturning Roger Goodell's suspension it puts things in flux.  Sure the players are cleared to play but with the NFL looking to revisit suspensions soon I'm not sure how everyone can play with a clear head.  I do believe the players deserve some type of penalty just not as severe as the ones they got.  I'm really hoping the NFL can get it right this time so everyone can just move on.

 

ATLANTA FALCONS:  This could be the year.  I know Matt Ryan and the Falcons have caught much flack for not winning a playoff game the past three years.  Still they are 32 and 16 in that time frame.  This team is good and the offense brings back all the stars with Ryan, Michael Turner, Roddy White, Julio Jones and Tony Gonzalez leading the way.  Rumor has it the offense will open up the passing game this year and I also expect second year running back Jacquizz Rogers to get the ball more.  I think he can be good as a receiver and also help keep Turner fresh.  Cornerback Asante Samuel was a huge addition in the off season.  Hopefully it will help put pressure on the opposing team's passing game and allow the team to improve on the 18th in the NFL standings for points given up per game.  Atlanta makes the playoffs and I think they are a 50-50 bet to win the NFC South.

 

 

BUFFALO BILLS:  Buffalo's acquisition of Mario is huge.  I think he could be good for one extra win this year.  Otherwise I'm not real sure what to expect.  Running back Fred Jackson is coming off an injury and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick battled injuries last year which many attribute to his swoon in the second half of the year.  Stevie Johnson is a solid number one receiver and David Nelson will do fine on the other side but I'm not sure that'll be enough.  The offensive line still needs help and that is always a recipe for disaster.  The defense was 30th in points allowed in 2011.  I think it begins and ends there.  Not sure Williams is enough to make everything good.  Buffalo will need the secondary to step up or no matter what the offense does they'll always be playing from behind.  Don't be surprised if Buffalo gets 8 eight wins but I will say I think the Jets will falter again this year so they should be able to get four wins out of the division alone. 

 

ST LOUIS RAMS:  I'm only typing about the Rams because they are the local team and I hear and talk about them quite a bit.  Bringing in Steve Fisher as coach was a great move.  Still they have a long ways to go.  I am befuddled because they have a quarterback in Sam Bradford with whom they believe is the long term answer but for some reason they won't get him anyone to throw to.  Everyone knows they are a run first team but I'm not sure anyone will respect the pass until they get a receiver who can make a defense pay. 

 

RANDOM:  The Patriots should win their division but at some point you'd think the offensive line troubles and bad defensive draft picks will catch up to them.  Maybe this is the year...Houston must be licking their lips.  They are poised for a big year if everyone stays healthy and should win all six games against their division foes...I was shocked to see Cincy let Cedric Benson walk but think they made a great pickup with BenJarvus Green-Ellis.  I think he can put up some major yards if he gets the carries a normal back would get, something he didn't have the luxury of in New England...The AFC West could be the best division going this year.  Oakland has Carson Palmer with a training camp under his belt, Peyton is in Denver, the Chiefs could be a huge surprise if Matt Cassel plays up to expectations, and the Chargers still have Phillip Rivers so I'll never count them out...

 

MY PICKS: 

NFC - Division Winners:  Philly, Green Bay, Atlanta, San Francisco

           Wild Cards:  New Orleans, Detroit

 

AFC - Division Winners:  New England, Baltimore, Houston, Denver

           Wild Cards:  Kansas City, Pittsburgh

 

Super Bowl:  Green Bay vs Baltimore

 

Green Bay wins!  I think Green Bay is the best team all around.  Their defense is better than the 19th ranked D they had last year and their offense is stacked.  Baltimore will give them a good test but I don't think it will be that close.  

2012 NFL Draft

It is done.  All 32 NFL teams have made their picks.  I am by no means an expert on the college players taken but do want to take a few words and address what my teams did to address their needs and of course touch on any other draft notes I think are worth touching on.  Buffalo was all over the place but I like their picks.  The first round brought a cornerback in Stephen Gilmore (pictured) who should help in today's pass happy league.  On defense they also picked up two linebackers as well as another defensive back.  On offense they went heavy on the offensive line drafting three to hopefully help protect Trend Edwards and open up holes for Fred Jackson.  Their last pick is a kicker with a big leg who would be a kickoff specialist.  Good idea but I'm never quite sure if these types of players are worth taking up the roster slot.  Overall I'm happy with their picks and think they address the needs of the team.

The Falcons big splash in this draft was trading for Asante Samuel of the Philadelphia Eagles for a seventh round pick.  They will have to suck up his contract and he isn't what he used to be but he is still a guy you can put on the outside by himself to defend any wide receiver.  Great pickup considering the price.  Atlanta went offensive line with their first two picks with a center and tackle.  They then took a fullback.  I like that as Michael Turner can always use another blocker to help free him up for runs.  They then went with two defensive lineman and a safety.  Atlanta didn't have a first round pick due to last year's draft day trade for Julio Jones but I thought the Falcons did well addressing concerns the team has at this point.

Since I'm near St. Louis and hear about them quite a bit through local radio and my buddies at work I'll look at their draft.  Not getting receiver Justin Blackmon in the first round was huge to local fans.  They zeroed in on him since day one wanting weapons for Sam Bradford.  The fact they traded down and went with the very unsexy pick of defensive tackle Michael Brockers had fans questioning their new coach.  If he hadn't addressed receiver in the second round I'm sure fans would have been jumping from rooftops. I would have liked to see them stay at the number six position in the first round and taken cornerback Morris Claiborne.   Otherwise the team's needs were addressed pretty well.  Still the conversations on Monday should be interesting.

The Redskins pick of QB Kirk Cousins in the fourth round made no sense after picking up RG3 with the second overall pick.....Cleveland taking another quarterback in the first round seemed to be a reach.  I understand if Colt McCoy isn't the answer but I have a hard time believing Brandon Wheeden is and I thought they could have addressed some of their many other needs.....New England finally traded up in a draft and went defense with their two first round picks.  They also took the Nebraska cornerback who was arrested for assaulting a cop in the seventh round.  He was projected as a second round pick so there could be some big upside to this pick.  Belicheck's defensive draft picks have not worked out that great as of late so he needs these guys to pan out..... The Titans draft a kid at tight end who has never played the position.  Taylor Thompson played defensive end his entire career at SMU.....