James Hall re-signs

stltoday.com reports the Rams have re-signed DE James Hall to a two-year contract. The new deal is no doubt less expensive than the contract in effect when he was cut last month. He was due $3.5 million for 2008, well in excess of his value to the team. Hall is a decent run-stopper but a big disappointment as a pass-rusher, with only 2.5 sacks last season.

Sadly, that was still good enough to make Hall the sack LEADER among Rams DEs, a group with about as much promise as the Kucinich for President campaign.

Think about it this way. Osi Umenyiora had a six-sack game for the Giants last season. Rams DT LaRoi Glover on his own had a respectable six sacks in 2007. The Ram DEs, however, totalled 5.5. All season.

Hall rejoins Leonard Little, Victor Adeyanju and Eric Moore, and I'm not sure there is a worse group of DEs in the NFL right now. Adeyanju and Moore are still waiting to get their SECOND career sack! Little turns 34 this season and is coming off an injury-filled, ONE-sack season. And he's the --proven-- commodity. Hall has exceeded five sacks in a season once. Adeyanju has one sack in two seasons; if he's ever going to show he can get to the QB, it better be soon. He's had maybe two or three good games as a Ram, counting preseason. Journeyman Moore has one sack in 22 NFL games.

It would be unconscionable for the Rams to head into 2008 with these four DEs, the same group they ended 2007 with. And looking at frankly how bad the Rams are at this position, I don't know why they bothered to bring Hall back, whether or not he's as good (bad) as any remaining free agent DE. If he's anything more than a camp body on this team, it's not a good sign for next year's pass rush. The Rams are going to have to hit on more than one DE in this year's draft to drag this carcass of a DE corps off the floor of the NFL.

Another note about Hall: the teams he's played on in his career have a won-lost record of 36-92. He's been on a 2-win team and three 3-win teams. Only in his rookie year of 2000 in Detroit did he play on a team with a winning record. His teams' winning percentage of .281 is one of the worst, if not the worst, mark for any NFL player.