I wasn’t around to see him play, but know of him as a legend. My words won’t do the man justice. But Tex Maule of SI broke down his technique at the height of his play back in 1964 in an article that is very much worth reading, even if Alex Karras got the cover shot: A Gigantic Midget Among Giant Men.

(If you’re in the mood for nostalgia, you can view a complete scan of the actual issue, vintage whiskey and car ads and all.)

Meanwhile, Billy Devaney and Kevin Demoff are puttering around the back alleys of the NFL in a rust-orange pickup with plywood sides, looking for treasure among other teams’ trash.

“Look here! Can you believe somebody would let AJ Feeley just sit out here in the elements like this? Hell, we could put him right in our living room.”

“Don’t look now, pard, but I see a couple of big dudes struggling to get Fred Robbins to the curb. Whattya say we go over and help ‘em out, maybe they cut us a deal?”

“We ain’t got room in the truck to pick up no Fred Robbins!”

“Well, just toss out that Derek Fine we picked up two weeks ago. He ain’t in such good shape.”

Meanwhile, Rams fans take up the part of the long-frustrated wife, looking at the ever-growing accumulation of fixer-uppers and could-bes and just shaking her head. “Please tell me at least you’re going to make room for some of this junk, right? When are you going to dump this beat up old Bulger already? It’s just sitting here looking pathetic, and it totally clashes with my Kurt Warner art on the walls.”

I guess if there’s one consolation here, it’s that they apparently aren’t interested in buying the same junk twice.

Oh. That kind of legend. (Fwd to 1:44 for a truly legendary moment.)

More on Feeley:

InsideSTL.com: Billy Devaney talks about the decision to sign Feeley (MP3 … fwd about 2/3 of the way through)

Mike Sando: Signing Feeley makes sense as a backup

Feeley is at least a better option than Jake Delhomme. But that’s not saying very much.

If the Rams had tendered Atogwe at a higher level — for example, asking teams for a first round pick back in compensation if they signed him away — then Kevin Demoff would be obligated to write out a check even larger than the $6.34 million that Atogwe received last season after being franchised.

Analysis after the break:

The sad truth is, it wasn’t a franchise type of year for the Rams’ free safety. Atogwe struggled early in the season to make the game-changing plays he’s known for, and lost games to injury for the first time in his career. Despite a higher rate of tackles per game, Atogwe accounted for a relatively pedestrian 2 INTs and 3 forced fumbles — not great numbers after forcing 27 turnovers in three years. This kind of production was almost unthinkable last offseason, when Atogwe profiled as one of the bright spots of the Rams’ defense.

Back in August, I had a lengthy conversation with Sam and Ben from Pro Football Focus on Atogwe that bears re-reading now.

Will: But are his ball skills “persistent”? That is, should we expect him to continue to be good at creating turnovers, or is that mostly luck? Or something that would get worse with age?

Will: So how should the Rams approach his contract situation?

However, perhaps his best game came against the team’s best opponent, the Super Bowl Champion Saints. Atogwe had five tackles, a key interception of Drew Brees in the red zone, and a forced fumble on Pierre Thomas that slowed yet another scoring drive. His tenacity in the second half was part of the best team effort the Rams put forth all season.

So we know what kind of risk the Rams are taking, what’s the potential reward? The Rams still retain “right of first refusal” on any contract offer made, and hope that this offer will represent some kind of savings versus his Franchise tag numbers. After Antrelle Rolle, Atogwe may be the most coveted free agent safety out there, though, so we could be saying farewell to one of the few defensive stars this team has, and getting nothing back in return.

Alex Barron isn’t ready to retire, but the Rams themselves openly wish he would go away. The latest news out of the buzz machine is that the Rams have tendered both Atogwe and Barron as restricted free agents, but are willing to listen to offers that are far below the suggested tender for Barron.

As both of these players prepare for life after the Rams, we can’t help but note a sad sympathy for two of the least-loved players in St Louis sports. Oh, there have been plenty of our own players and sports figures more hated and reviled in this town — Tony Banks, Lawrence Phillips, Jason Sehorn, Tino Martinez, Mike Keenan, and JD Drew to name just a few from my generation.

But it’s rare to find a combination of franchise players — quarterback and left tackle — that have so very few fans, so few people who will stand up and argue when the hate comes down. So few fans that it’s hard to understand that they could have any trade value at all.

But Barron isn’t the only one of these two that the Rams could deal. As Matt Bowen of the National Football Post points out, the Rams aren’t in any hurry to cut Bulger, and dealing the QB for a late-round draft pick would be an ideal solution.

Let’s deal with Barron first. Is there a taker for his services, even at a discounted price? It’s the question of the day at both Turf Show Times and RamsGab. I put the question to our correspondents at Pro Football Focus, via Twitter.

RamsHerd @ProFootbalFocus @MonieWR82 Is there a trade market for Alex Barron? What would you give up for him?

ProFootbalFocus @RamsHerd We’ve never been a fan… But a 2nd round pick for a guy who has starting experience at both tackle spots and still just 27 could tempt somebody

Looking at the PFF rankings for Barron, and it’s plainly obvious why they aren’t a fan — he ranks 70th of 77 tackles in the NFL. In 2008, he ranked 65th. Not an encouraging trend. However, if Barron has shown anything, it’s that his inconsistency makes him capable of actually putting together a good game every once in a while. And teams that he’s played well against make good potential targets for trying to deal him.

Looking at Barron’s 2009 game log, two teams bubble up: Minnesota and Houston. (Looking back to 2008, he played well against Washington as well, but he followed up that audition with a season-worst performance in Week 2 of this year, giving up a sack and 4 other pressures, as well as committing two costly penalties. The less teams have seen of him, the better.)

Of the two, Minnesota is more likely to be looking for deals, as they are hamstrung by the uncapped-year rules that state that they cannot sign an unrestricted free agent without losing one of their own. Therefore, making incremental improvements with veteran players will have to come through trades. And despite hosting an incredible comeback year from Favre, their offensive line is a mess.

However, Houston’s good fortunes, finishing with their first-ever winning season, leaves them with a less-impactful draft slot. If they felt like pushing over a mid-third-rounder (#81 overall) for Barron, would the Rams honestly be in a position to say no?

Added: One final note on Washington, from the guys at PFF:

ProFootbalFocus @RamsHerd Washington need OT help with Samuels likely retiring, but new staff there so anything Barron did in ‘08 vs them is irrelevent

Now, to Bulger. At this point in his career, he has to be hoping for the patented “Kurt Warner soft landing” as a backup/mentor to a team on the rise. Ironically, some have even placed him as a good fit in Arizona, taking Warner’s place. He also looks pretty good by comparison when the best available free agent quarterback is Chad Pennington. (Personally, I’d rather have Pennington.)

The downside? Obviously, his price tag. If he is traded rather than cut, it means the team that acquires him also acquires the rest of his contract. Yes, that contract is not guaranteed, but it shifts the burden of renegotiating or cutting him to the acquiring team. Not an attractive proposition — except in an uncapped year, when there’s no penalty for carrying an albatross salary for one season at an unglamorous position.

Also, as with the Vikings above, the Cardinals are in a delicate situation. They’ve been to the playoffs two years in a row, but now face an unsettling crossroads with the retirement of Warner and the handing of the reins to Matt Leinert. The rest of the pieces (except for some improvements to be made in the offensive line and a replacement for Antrelle Rolle and Karlos Dansby) are in place for a continued run. But they can’t use the free agent market for much, given the unusual restrictions put on playoff teams this offseason. There’s no doubt that they would like a veteran insurance policy for Leinert, one who is comfortable and accurate in a vertical passing offense. Bulger is a nearly ideal fit in this market. And he can be had, in terms of draft picks, for pennies on the dollar.

Bottom line, it’s plausible that both players could be traded away. And if the Rams get something in trade for either or both, it’s more than most feel we’ve gotten from them on the field in the last three years.

Devaney and the Rams have narrowed (or widened?) the field of potential top picks to four players: DEs Ndamukong Suh, Gerald McCoy, and QBs Sam Bradford and Jimmy Clausen. While it’s in keeping with his tendency to not tip his hand, I think it actually hurts the Rams’ ability to trade down by not declaring a favorite among this group. As long as there is a strong alternative for the one guy that the Rams take, there isn’t going to be that much demand to trade up to get that one guy. There appear to be two potential trade partners, though: the Bucs (to get Ndamukong Suh), or the Redskins (to get Sam Bradford). The more noise there is around the Rams and Bradford, the jumpier they get in Washington.

Ndamukong Suh is more intense, but Gerald McCoy is a funny dude. In his interview with Nick Wagoner at StLouisRams.com, Suh pointed out how important it is to him to be picked #1. “I’m a competitor. I want to be No. 1. So that’s what I’m going to strive for.” He talks like a man who still has something to prove. McCoy, on the other hand, seems more comfortable in his skin. This always-smiling, always positive attitude can be a blessing, but it can also be easily misinterpreted by fans, especially fans suffering through years of misery. If the team is losing and McCoy’s demeanor doesn’t seem particularly affected by it, that can drive a wedge between player and fans.

Sam Bradford put on 12 pounds of muscle, and that by itself might be enough. Bradford’s measurables came in very nicely: 6′4″, 236. Because a mob of people can be somewhat excitable, this measurement was the buzz of the second day. Adam Schefter, for one, pronounced it an all-but-done-deal that the Rams take Bradford first overall. But then again, looking good in one’s underwear doesn’t necessarily mean squat once you get on the football field.

Meanwhile, Jimmy Clausen wants to be seen as a leader. And he wants to become a “gym rat.”

He also knows how to sell himself.

What about pick #33? The Rams seem to have tight ends in mind. And the tight ends that they’ve been talking about don’t include RamsHerd favorite Aaron Hernandez. Rather, it’s Jermaine Gresham (no surprise) and Rob Gronkowski.

greggrosenthal Rob Gronkowski said the Rams told him they were taking a tight end. He won’t work out until late March

RamsHerd Gronkowski, like Gresham, missed 2009 to injury … he wasn’t on my radar, but should the Rams rank him above Hernandez?

nfldraftscout @RamsHerd We’ve had Gronkowski #2 all season

Gronkowski has the size that Hernandez lacks, and Spagnuolo in interview (again with the omnipresent and possibly omniscient Nick Wagoner) didn’t mind giving us his preferences: “Both of those guys (Gresham and Gronkowski) can catch the football, block. You look for a tight end that can do all of the components so I think both of those guys bring that one way or the other, at least in our opinion.”

Although, if the Rams were to look in another direction for that second-round offensive playmaker, I’m leaning toward WR Brandon LaFell myself…

nfldraftscout @RamsHerd LOVE him. Would be a great pick-up

This argument is interesting in the abstract, but it’s not abstract money that’s being spent here. It’s Shahid Khan’s money — or at least, it will be, if the NFL approves his deal to purchase the team in May.

How does Khan want his money spent, in this inaugural draft? That’s the wildcard.

While Jim Thomas of the Post-Dispatch was relatively sanguine about this meeting, I can think of no more important topic of conversation than this first pick — not necessarily from a player perspective, but from a philosophical perspective. Is Khan, a reported “long-time fan” of the Rams, going to be a hands-on owner in the Mark Cuban/Daniel Snyder/George Steinbrenner mode? Does he have a cadre of football guys and yes-men that he wants to bring into the picture? Or is he willing to play “hands-off” and let the braintrust of Spagnuolo, Devaney and Demoff do their work?

We don’t know much about Khan yet, but Mike Sando dug up some intriguing notes from a lecture he gave several years ago. In his speech, he took parts of the classic work, Sun Tzu’s Art of War, and melded it into his philosophy for running a business.

• Never destroy the market while capturing it.
• Play to your competitor’s weakness.
• Keep information to yourself.
• Make strategic alliances to maximize strength.
• Get the maximum potential from your employees.

If we take this first point at face value, it seems that Khan will be an inclusive leader, willing to incorporate the thoughts of the football men that are already on the job, rather than arriving with a mission to gut-rehab the inner working of the Rams.

It also seems as though Khan is more than happy to let Devaney sow seeds of doubt about who the Rams have their eye on, or who Khan himself favors, if anyone. Recent tweets today show he is more than up for the task:

OneRamsWay GM Billy Devaney just finished Combine media tour. Acknowledged that Bradford, Clausen, Suh, McCoy top contenders for No. 1 pick.

DraftZoo Rams GM Billy Devaney says even a defensive tackle can be face of franchise. Also, so can a qb… #suh #bradford #mccoy #combine

OneRamsWay Devaney on Suh vs. McCoy: “We are hoping that somehow there is separation (between the two). Right now in our eyes, there isn’t any.”

Doug Farrar Rams GM Billy DeVaney on Adam Schefter’s clainm that STL will take Bradford: “I’m glad Dr. Schefter has cleared him.”

StullySTL Devaney also reiterated no trade talks yet about the #1 pick. Also no talks with PHI about any of their players (Vick)

DraftZoo Word on the street at the NFL Combine is that it’s Bradford all the way for the Rams. Misinformation? Maybe. #NFLCombine

However, with that in mind, there is a certain philosophy that should, I think, guide the Rams’ choices in this draft: Get Suh first, and then go and grab as many impact offensive playmakers as you can in the next three choices. Now, if for some reason Joe Haden drops to #33 (a laughable example, but still), obviously the Rams should forgo that plan and grab him. But assuming it doesn’t rain frogs between now and the draft, here’s a suggestion for that top of the second round:

TE – Aaron Hernandez (University of Florida)

The Hype

First of all, Hernandez played on a national championship team, and was a favorite target of the quote-unquote “best player in College Football history,” Tim Tebow. But more importantly, his hands and skills both before and after the catch have NFL scouts drooling.

Strategic Fit

The Rams love to throw to tight ends … just imagine if they had a real weapon to throw to! Looking at the list of 2009’s most-targeted TEs, elite players such as Dallas Clark, Tony Gonzalez, and Jason Witten sit unsurprisingly on the top. But guys like Chicago’s Greg Olson, the Jets’ Dustin Keller, the Eagles Brent Celek, and Seattle’s John Carlson are highly utilized — in some cases because they are more reliable than the WRs on the team. Olsen in particular seemed to get all of the Bears’ red zone and end zone targets in the last quarter of the season.

Now if you combine Randy McMichael’s 58 targets, Daniel Fells’ 32 targets, and Billy Bajema’s 10 targets, that’s 100 throws to a subpar collection of big men. That number outranks the targets given to Olsen, Keller and Carlson. This is a hallmark of the hybrid West Coast offense that Pat Shurmur favors. More notably, the Rams run a lot of plays — both runs and passes — out of a two-tight-end formation.

The problem: McMichael, Fells and Bajema combined to catch just 62% of those passes — McMichael, the leading target, caught just 34 of 58 passes thrown his way. Many of these misses were flat-out drops. Clearly this is an area where the Rams could, and should, upgrade.

One key area for tight end production is in the red zone and end zone, and the Rams could definitely improve on the combined 4 touchdown receptions (33% of our season total) by our group of big men. Hernandez’ ability to get open quickly, and playmaking ability after the catch, could have a huge impact here.

Arguments Against

Hernandez’s biggest weaknesses are the reasons he will drop out of the first round, as compared to a “true” tight end like Oklahoma’s Jermaine Gresham. Gresham can truly do it all — run block, pass block, go get the ball as an outlet receiver, and power through tackles. Hernandez, by comparison, has struggled with the in-line blocking responsibilities of being on the strong side of the offensive line.

However, that isn’t necessarily how the Rams need to utilize Hernandez to get the most out of him. Whether in a two-TE set with a blocking tight end like Billy Bajema, or in a two-RB set with fullback Mike Karney, the Rams can find ways to have Hernandez on the field quite a bit without his sub-par blocking becoming a minus that outweighs the pluses of his playmaking ability.

Gresham also has prototypical size, while Hernandez is seen as “small” at 6-2, 250 lbs. However, this is no smaller than Dustin Keller or Dallas Clark, who both manage to be highly productive members of their teams.

DraftZoo People are going to make way too big a deal about Aaron Hernandez’s arm length (32 1/4). He’s a player. Let the combine swooning begin.

My sentiments exactly. In short, unless some star falls out of the sky and lands at #33, the Rams would be very well-positioned to add a premier playmaker at a position that is hard to find.

But after declaring for FSU, he couldn’t manage to qualify academically, and once falling off track, fell through the proverbial cracks. Low-paying work? Check. Bouncing from school to school? Check. Criminal arrest and jail time? Check. He now plays for little-known Shaw University.

The story, fully told, is of a player that seems almost too perfect to become a Spagnuolo project — a still-raw but ferocious talent who is dedicating himself to what may be his last chance to fulfill an NFL dream.

In a story soon to be published, John and Ian from The Steelers n’at asked me about the Rams’ needs from this draft. Among other things, and even after drafting Suh first overall, I mentioned the need to get a “project” player for Spagnuolo on the defensive line. A guy who can become the signature player for the Rams’ focus on player development, a gem hidden under layers of coal that only Spags knows how to crack.

This isn’t the first time he’s shown up on the radar. Back in 2008, Tom Marino of Scout.com tentatively rated Bright ahead of the guys pegged to go first round in that year’s draft: Glenn Dorsey and Sedrick Ellis.

The biggest thing separating him from his ability is the fact that he never had the advantage of working in the NFL factory known as the Big College School. He’s hoping to make up for years of lost time at All Star Sports in central Florida.

As active as the Rams have been with undrafted players, scouring other teams’ practice squads for untapped talents, and as committed as they have been to developing these recruits into actual football players, the Rams could be a perfect home for Bright.

Do the Rams understand the faults of their targeted player(s)?
If there’s one constant meme in this year’s quarterback draft class, it’s that each player carries a significant flaw. Sam Bradford has consistently operated under shotgun, in a non-pro-style spread offense, and facing little pass pressure. Jimmy Clausen has worked in a pro-style offense, but has question marks surrounding his temperament and some elements of his mechanics. Colt McCoy and the lower-tier QBs will all need a long development time.

Cole writes:

The pressing question facing the Rams is: are they forced to pick from a less-than-stellar list of QBs this year, whose faults outweigh their benefits? Alex Smith was a flawed pick for many reasons, including those mentioned, but he was a terrible pick at #1 overall. The 49ers had such a desperate need at QB that they overlooked the fact that the 2005 draft class was quarterback-poor. Of the QBs taken, only Aaron Rodgers (1st round, 24th pick) and Derek Anderson (5th round) have had Pro-Bowl seasons; Rodgers benefited from years on the bench behind a hall-of-famer, and Anderson is now in a serious decline after what looks like a fluke season.

The Rams may be facing a similar draft class, despite the Sam Bradford hype machine that wants to put him ahead of last year’s picks in Stafford and Sanchez.

Do the Rams have a commitment to restocking their offensive weapons?
Here is where the example of the 49ers raises a huge red flag for the Rams. Cole compares the high-round draft moves (Edgerrin James, Reggie Wayne, and Dallas Clark) made by the Colts in the years following the Manning draft, and the moves made by the Steelers (Heath Miller, Santonio Holmes, Rashard Mendenhall) after drafting Roethlisberger. Likewise, you can look at the aggressive moves Atlanta made (signing top free agents Michael Turner from San Diego and Tony Gonzalez from Kansas City) to support the drafting of Matt Ryan.

But, as Cole writes, teams with young “bust” QBs did not follow suit:

One could argue that only Mike Singletary’s intervention and Vernon Davis’ sudden breakthrough into a mature football player has kept Smith’s career alive at this point.

The Rams may not lack the will in coming years, but aside from Jason Smith, they have not added first-round talent on offense in some time. You have to go back to the drafting of Jackson to find a first-round pick used on a skill player. And the free agent class simply is not there this offseason, to add players of the caliber of Gonzalez and Turner without losing something of equal value in trade.

Most importantly, do the Rams have a commitment to their plan on offense?

The Rams took a huge gamble by hiring a trio of rookie coaches — Spagnuolo as a first-time head coach, Ken Flajole as a first-time defensive coordinator, and Pat Shurmur as a first-time offensive coordinator. Of the three, Shurmur is on the shortest leash by far.

The Rams’ offense has the only “A+” player on the entire team, Steven Jackson, but even when elements of the offense were clicking, the overall game plan seemed to be continually out of sync. The Rams’ scripted sets of first quarter plays seldom produced points, their halftime adjustments were consistently poor, and their red zone scoring percentage — a factor widely expected to improve, if merely by the law of averages — remained abysmal.

I expect Shurmur to get this next season to show considerable improvement, or face the firing line. The new ownership will not be expected to inherit the patience that the team’s old ownership might have extended beyond this season. And if Shurmur does get replaced, does the entire “hybrid run-based West-Coast Offense” popularized by Jim Zorn’s Seahawks and Redskins — both doormats now — go with it? Is there any more fruit under the Andy Reid coaching tree? Or do the Rams face the prospect of hiring an “experienced” OC that will bring with him a new set of ingrained prejudices about they type of quarterback he needs?

This kind of forward-looking decision is crucial to the Rams’ choice at quarterback. The Rams must be able to confidently answer all three questions before drafting “the Future” at QB. I’m less than confident, myself.