Not really, we had everything to lose and everything to gain with Beltran, here we don't and we get to keep what was ours!
don't be so glum, chum. we have a good young nucleus with the Texans...our Astros just came out of the NLCS...and the Rockets look great!!! don't freak out over one player. particularly in football.
Insiders say that Pace has lost a step. But, they said the same thing about Roaf when he left the Saints. I give the Texans an A for effort.
If the Rams decided to up their offer, good for them... frankly, I thought it was stupid for them to get this close to losing him (having franchised him the last 3 years). Then again, their cap is in horrible shape... and probably will get worse after this deal... but in the NFL, you don't need high-priced talent everywhere. Can't blame the Texans for trying... this would have cured a lot. The O-line is clearly a priority of this team, and it wouldn't suprise me to see them address that in the draft this year.
Well im not THAT dissapointed . Things have been better as of late but I just did'nt have a good feeling for this situation to start with .
Good!! Now lets focus on the 13th pick and have a breakout season next year. Dunte will be better, AJ might be the best wideout in the AFC, D.Davis is a solid back, Carr should be better, and Casserly will pick an impact player at 13 so Im real excited about the season.
I wouldn't be so sure, who is out there that is going to make an impact and be available at 13? This draft isn't that deep with top talent, that's why a Pace trade would have been a good fit this year. I'm hoping for a trade down and adding some extra picks. I don't see a big talent drop from around 11 to the early twenties.
I just have alot of faith in the team. I think next season the Texans will win atleast 10 games and be a playoff team. Casserly has done a great job in the draft and I think he will do it again this year. Nobody thought Dunta would be that good that fast when we picked him 10th and I think Casserly will get another impact player at 13. Im not sure what position they are thinking but im sure whomever they get they will make an instant impact.
I disagree. I think our sectoin of the draft has good talent compared to other drafts. The very top is filled with running backs that we don't need and that aren't usaully drafted that high, as well as QB's who are less talented than the normal crop. But after that I think there strong players to be had. Mike Williams is unlikely to slip but an outside shot. Derrick Johnson is possible and is a terrific playmaker. Merriman could be available and is a terrific athlete who would upgrade our pass rush. Erasmus James terrorizes QB's and will almost definitely be available. Troy Williamson is 6-2 running a 4.3 averaging 19.4 YPC in the SEC. If we take any of these players, I think we have a good shot to come out with a difference maker. By process of elimination there pretty much has to be one of them left. The only thing I would be dissapointed in is if we went O-line at 13 as that just seems like a reach since there isn't the top level O-line talent.
There's also no mention of it on STLtoday.com's sports or Rams section. Their top story is B. Fisher leaves Rams for Seahawks. It was just updated too. (Tue.,Mar. 15, 2005/Last Updated 11:06 pm) There is still nothing about it on 590KFNS. Their lead story is Faulk Agrees to New Contract With Rams. I would think if Pace confirmed on KFNS radio saying, "we're very close." it would be on some of the sites by now.....right
Edit It's on their site now Rams raise offer to Pace If you put general managers from all 32 NFL teams in one room and asked them to decide among Orlando Pace, Walter Jones and Jonathan Ogden as the league's best left tackle - it would be quite a discussion. The three players are that comparable, and that close in skill. It is only fitting then, that the seven-year, $52.8 million contract Pace is expected to sign today with the Rams is on the same wavelength as the contracts for Seattle's Jones and Baltimore's Ogden. Under the Rams' third contract offer - a revised proposal made Tuesday morning - Pace will receive: $18 million in signing bonus and base salary in Year 1, compared with $17.7 million for Jones. $22 million in the first two years, compared with $21.7 million for Jones. $26 million in the first three years, compared with $26.7 million for Jones. In addition, the overall value of the deal is slightly above Jones' $52.5 million deal. As for Ogden, Pace will receive $2 million more than Ogden three years into the deal, and $1 million more than Ogden after four years. None of this was true just 24 hours earlier, under the Rams' previous contract offer. The Rams were offering Pace $5 million less than Jones after three years, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. And that was a big sticking point with Pace and his agents. For NFL players, money received early in a multi-year contract is important, because unlike other sports, yearly base salaries aren't guaranteed in football. That's a particularly important consideration for Jones, 31, because he will be 38 at the end of his seven-year deal with Seattle. The same is true for Pace, who turns 30 in November, and would be 37 at the end of a seven-year deal. They may not see the end of their deals. So Pace visited the Houston Texans, the Texans made a contract offer, and Pace hinted broadly about the possibility of a change of scenery. But the landscape changed Tuesday morning with the Rams' latest - and what one team official insists is their last - contract offer. "This is it," the official said. "He takes it; or he doesn't take it." If Pace does the unexpected, and doesn't take it, it won't be because of economic issues. It will be because he simply doesn't want to play for the Rams. Rams officials remained cautious Tuesday. Pace and his agent neither accepted nor rejected the proposal when it was presented. Perhaps Pace wanted to sleep on it. But the Rams are facing a real deadline today. If all the paperwork on any deal isn't signed, sealed and delivered to the NFL office by 3 p.m., the Rams would lose the right to use the franchise tag on any player for the length of Pace's contract. And going seven years without having a franchise tag designation at their disposal is not something the Rams are willing to do. So simply stated, if the deal's not completed by 3 p.m., there's no deal. And if that's the case, per league rules, the Rams and Pace's agents can't negotiate again for the next four months. In the absence of a contract, team president John Shaw was emphatic Tuesday that the Rams would not trade Pace to the Texans or anyone else. "We're not going to trade him," Shaw said. "Let them do an offer sheet. We have no interest in trading him." Which is a change from the Rams' stance just three weeks ago. "We put some feelers out," Shaw said. "It had to be a big-time deal. Really, I had one conversation with Ernie (Accorsi), and there was never really that much of a discussion about it." Accorsi is the New York Giants' general manager. "The Giants felt like they didn't have enough firepower to trade, so we didn't discuss it," Shaw said. If the Texans or anyone else signs Pace to an offer sheet, the Rams have the opportunity to match the contract - keeping Pace in St. Louis. And as Shaw said Tuesday, "I can't imagine that Houston's paying him more than we're offering him. Who knows?"
Well John Clayton at ESPN is running with the radio station thing(at least the part about pace and his comments): http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=2014104
