FA QB preview

UFA QBs as of 2/18/08 (from kffl.com)
RamView's Top 5: 1 - Billy Volek 2 - Todd Collins 3 - Daunte Culpepper 4 - Byron Leftwich 5 - Chris Redman

Sleeper: Craig Nall

Gawd No: Rex Grossman

Rams analysis: Replacing Brock Berlin is a must. He's overmatched by the pro game, and it cost the Rams the Cincinnati game last year. Gus Frerotte played with such disappointing unintelligence in 2007 that he can't be considered a reliable insurance policy for Bulger. The only reason to keep Frerotte around is if it's for the best economically. More than a few of the available QBs would be upgrades over Gus, and all would be improvements over Brock.

Viewing the field: Collins, an Al Saunders QB, ran the Redskin offense extremely well last season after Jason Campbell went down. Collins is 36, though, and with Frerotte on the last year of his contract anyway, it doesn't seem very cost-effective to make that move. The rest of the top four will likely come with high price tags, but they could like the situation in St. Louis enough to come at a discount. Marc Bulger gets hurt all the time, so his backup's got a great chance to start. Daunte Culpepper's name has obviously come up before, and he has history with Scott Linehan. His big arm's a plus, but unless he's coming very cheap, his propensity for fumbling and his mid-70s passer rating since 2004 don't make him a very good deal for the Rams.

RamView's move: My first target is the 30-year-old Redman, who had a hot hand at the end of last season and has some starting experience with the Falcons and Ravens. The main concern is that he'll overprice himself based on that season-ending hot streak. I want to try to get by a little cheaply here because it's not a crucial position and because I could be eating the end of Frerotte's contract. My backup plan is 28-year-old Nall, who should relish the chance for playing time behind Bulger vs. deep burial on Green Bay's bench. He's young, should be cheap, looks strong-armed, and looks like he knows what he's doing when he gets into games. I'll probably keep Frerotte at 3rd string if I have to settle for Nall; otherwise, Gus is out if I can get a nice QB bargain on draft day. I'd consider a 2008 QB depth chart of Bulger, Redman and, say, Eric Ainge, a major improvement over last year.

What the Rams could do: I think the Rams will also target Redman and will also cross their fingers on snagging a bargain QB in the draft. Billy Devaney had a good look at Redman in Atlanta and Redman was Linehan's QB at Louisville. I expect Cleo Lemon will also be prominent on the Rams' radar since Linehan coached him in Miami. If they can't get Redman, or decide to keep Frerotte, Lemon would certainly be an upgrade over Berlin as #3 this year and could credibly step up to #2 in 2009.

Prediction: Sensing the fanbase won't want to make a big splash at backup QB, the Rams keep Frerotte, settle for Lemon to replace Berlin and make sure to use lots of draft picks on the line positions.