Good afternoon. Sorry for the long layoff in posting, I’ve been having a fair share of internet problems the past few weeks and I could hardly find time to get on the internet much less do any blogging. Anyway, that’s all clear so hopefully I’ll start getting back to regular  posting again.

There’s been a lot said about the Rams early moves in free agency since it started on Friday. They signed perennial backup quarterback AJ Feeley on Friday and then signed DT Fred Robbins yesterday. These moves, while not intended to make a big splash, are necessary additions in my opinion. The Rams needed a veteran presence in the quarterback department on the sideline not knowing Marc Bulger’s future and the fact that Kyle Boller is not coming back. Robbins should fortify a defensive line that might lose both James Hall and Leonard Little.

That brings us to an interesting divide in the fan base. Many casual fans see the 1-15 record of the 2009 Rams and want results right away. They want the Rams to go out and spend money on big time free agents and use their high draft picks to trade for some big time guys that are on the block right now. They want the Rams to work to improve right away and make 2010 a better season than it may be otherwise. They are underwhelmed by the moves to sign Feeley and Robbins and cry that it “reeks of the old front office.” They want results next year, and they don’t care how they are going to get them.

Unfortunately, there is a large flaw in these fans thinking. If the Rams are going to go out and sign free agents like these fans want and make trades like these fans want, they are going to sacrifice big parts of the Rams future. In order to sign these big time free agents, it takes a lot of cash and a lot of resources to make them want to come to St. Louis. Cash that’s going to need to be used to sign these high draft picks we’re about to have and cash to hold in reserve for the large free agent class that is going to come in 2011.

In order to make trades like these fans want, it’s going to cost draft picks in order to make it happen. Draft picks that will be used to draft players for the future. Many people complain that the draft picks are no good anyway because the team will just waste them again, but fans have to remember that this is new front office in control and these same mistakes should not happen again. These are marquee picks that can be used to get marquee players that can be used for a long time. These are not disposable picks that can be used to trade for “established” players that will only help the team for 3-4 years before moving on or getting too old to play well anymore.

Fans need to realize that Coach Steve Spagnuolo has a plan for the future and wants to stick to that plan. He and front office frontman Billy Devaney are not going to sacrifice draft picks or big time bucks in order to get players that aren’t going to be part of the long term plan. These guys are building for the future, not just for 2010. If the Rams make some of the moves these fans are suggesting, yes they might be 3-4 games better in 2010 than they are going to be otherwise, but at what cost? Four wins in 2011? Five wins in 2012? The point is this: the Rams are going to lose again in 2010, that’s just something we’re going to have to accept. Why spend money and resources making the team suck a little less in 2010 at the expense of the years that we’re pinning the Rams to possibly be good, like 2011 or 2012?