This easily the most hypocritical move by the Rams this offseason. Linehan got the benefit of the
doubt from John Shaw because there were so many offensive line injuries in 2007, but Boudreau, a fine offensive line coach who had a bunch of scrubs dominating the trenches at the end of 2006, did not get the same benefit of the doubt from Linehan. So Boudreau's out, replaced by a FOSL, Loney the Crony. Croney ran a top-of-the-league offensive line at Minnesota while Linehan ran their offense, so there's something to recommend him. Then again, he made nothing happen at Arizona last year, and in an informal role as Rams consultant last year, opened up a Larry Marmie-style "talent" pipeline of Big Dead castaways, and the Rams' injured players were replaced by the likes of Milford Brown, Brandon Gorin and Nick Leckey, as opposed to players who could actually block at the professional level. The great concern with Croney heading into 2008 is that the Big Dead rejects will hang around instead of being replaced by young prospects or others who, well, can actually block at the professional level. Short of repeating his performance at Minnesota, Croney isn't an improvement over who the Rams had, and if the Ram offensive line personnel situation isn't significantly reworked, he's a step down.
Grade: D+ There was really no reason to replace Boudreau; good luck to him in Atlanta.
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