Rams News

Vermeil says again that the Rams
won't draft troubled Moss

03/28/98

By Jim Thomas
Of the Post-Dispatch Staff
With the draft only three weeks away, Dick Vermeil hasn't changed his mind on Marshall wide receiver Randy Moss.
``He's on our (draft) board in the ratings now,'' Vermeil said last week at NFL owners meetings. ``He won't be on our board on draft day.''
Why?
``It's just because of the problems he's already had,'' Vermeil said. ``I don't need any more problems. No reflection on Lawrence Phillips . . . I just don't believe in taking Georgia Frontiere's and Stan Kroenke's money and making that kind of investment.''
Moss' conviction on a battery charge when he was as a high-school senior caused Notre Dame to revoke a scholarship offer.
At Florida State, he never suited up after getting caught with marijuana. That violated his probation, and Moss served about a month of a one-year jail sentence before walking on at Marshall.
``I'll tell you this: If he was a New York stock and had been going down all those times, would you invest a $6 million signing bonus in it? Would you put $6 million of your savings in that stock?
``Hey, I hope he's successful. I hope he's a great kid. I hope he solves all his problems. I really do. I'm not against him. I just can't justify to our people drafting a person with continual problems.''

Not worried
After failing to make a big spash in free agency, the spin out of Rams Park concerns player development and the draft.
``Our offseason program is 75 percent ahead of where it was last year at the same time,'' Vermeil said. ``When Roman Phifer was in town and Isaac Bruce was there -- those two are coming in in two-week blocs -- we had 17 of the 22 starters working out.''
One way to get better is keeping what you've got and improving it through the offseason program, minicamps and training camp.
``One of the Rams' big problems is how many good football players have come through here that aren't here anymore,'' Vermeil said. ``You talk about Sean Gilbert, you talk about the Bus (Jerome Bettis). You talk about the fullback at Pittsburgh (Tim Lester). You talk about the tight end at Miami (Troy Drayton).''
That explains why the Rams aren't ready to jettison former high draft picks such as quarterback Tony Banks or wide receiver Eddie Kennison.
``The Rams have invested money in these guys and time in these guys,'' Vermeil said. ``I believe you build a good football team through the draft . . . and then you supplement it with free agency. We've done that to a point. We've got to make sure we spend the money on the right guys.''

Compare contrast
Dick Vermeil isn't sure who he likes better at quarterback, Tennessee's Peyton Manning or Washington State's Ryan Leaf. But in terms of pure physical ability, he'll take . . . Banks.
``I believe if you put him out on the practice field, and worked him out in comparison to the top kids coming out now -- and the top kids that came out last year -- he would be more physically impressive going through the total workout,'' Vermeil said. ``I believe that.''
Vermeil said that doesn't necessarily mean Banks will be a better NFL quarterback than Manning or Leaf. But Vermeil added that Banks has worked hard this offseason.
``He hasn't missed a day in the offseason program,'' Vermeil said. ``He hasn't missed a day in the quarterback meetings. We've been meeting three days a week, two hours at a time since March 2.
``I think all he needs is time and a good supporting cast offensively. The offensive line has to get a lot better.''

Orlando's pace
Vermeil said that offensive tackle Orlando Pace -- the No. 1 overall pick in the draft one year ago -- also has been an offseason regular at Rams Park.
``I think he's probably two seasons away from being a Pro Bowl player,'' Vermeil said. ``Once he gets there, he'll play there every year. I really believe that. He's really learning to work and be a pro.
``What hurt him last season is when he just started coming on, then he had the knee problem. He had to sit out three games, and then he came back and it took him (a while). The last game of the season, he played super.''

Back to back
Now that the New York Jets have running back Curtis Martin, Adrian Murrell is trade bait for Bill Parcells' team. Are the Rams interested? In a rare offseason news conference Thursday, Parcells acknowledged that Murrell's name came up recently while he and Vermeil were discussing Hugh Douglas, the defensive end the Jets wound up trading to Philadelphia.
Parcells and Vermeil have done business before -- namely the predraft trade a year ago that allowed the Rams to select Pace. When asked about Murrell last week, Vermeil would only say that he and Parcells have talked about a variety of subjects this offseason.
It still looks like the most logical pick for the Rams at No. 6 overall is Penn State running back Curtis Enis, which would make a trade for Murrell unecessary. Rams vice president of player personnel Charley Armey attended Enis' workout Friday in Muncie, Ind. Vermeil likes Enis a lot.

Black sheep
This may change by late summer as a ruling nears, but St. Louis' appeal in its antitrust lawsuit against the NFL isn't even a blip on the league's radar screen. There was no noticeable sign of hostility by the league toward club President John Shaw and the rest of the Rams' contingent at the owners meetings.
Still, it is curious that the Rams are not represented on the league's 17 committees and working groups. (Vermeil has been added to a coaches subcommittee of the competition committee, but that's not the same thing.)

Rams potpourri
After learning that it might take up to $1 million a year to sign cornerback Willie Clark, the Rams told Clark's agent they were no longer interested. Clark, an unrestricted free agent from Philadelphia, is one of the faster players in the league. The Rams were looking at him as a nickel back.
> The Rams were shot down at the owners meetings in attempts to have their exhibition opener against Denver shown on national television. The game will be played sometime on the first weekend in August at the Trans World Dome. The Rams were hoping for some rare national exposure when they play the defending Super Bowl champs.
> Kurt Warner, the third of the three Rams quarterbacks under contract, had a strong showing last Sunday in his final NFL Europe preseason scrimmage against Frankfurt. Warner completed eight of 13 passes for 119 yards, and looks like he has won the starting job for the Amsterdam Admirals. NFL Europe, formerly known as the World League, begins play April 4.

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