Why some teams are 1-15

Free agency has opened in the NFL with a pretty loud bang.

The Bears are signing Julius Peppers to a NINETY million dollar deal.

Badly in need of wide receivers, the Ravens have made a deal for Anquan Boldin.

The Jets also made a huge trade, acquiring Antonio Cromartie to complete what should be the NFL's best defensive backfield.

Karlos Dansby has signed with Miami for $22 million guaranteed.

After the Big Dead cut him, the Giants made Antrell Rolle the highest paid safety of all time.

The Lions quickly snapped up my top UFA WR, Nate Burleson, to a 5-year deal, and picked up a needed pass rusher in Kyle Vanden Bosch.

Other teams smartly signed their own guys. Indy keeps Gary Brackett and Cleveland makes Josh Cribbs happy after two years of complaining about his contract. The Patriots re-upped Vince Wilfork to a huge deal.

The Falcons are reportedly signing Dunta Robinson. The Seahawks are making a play for Brandon Marshall.

The Rams?

They signed A.J. Feeley, who is 32 and hasn't been a starter since 2004. And he only started then because Miami made an awful trade with the Eagles after Feeley's 4-1 run at the end of 2002 helped Philly get into the playoffs. His last start was a 4-INT game against Seattle. He didn't have a job last year before Carolina picked him up to replace an injured Josh McCown. Yes, the Rams have signed a QB who last year was seen fit, at best, to back up Jake Delhomme. For God's sake, is it possible for a team with Kyle Boller to get worse at a position?

PAT SHURMUR KNOWS HIM, THOUGH. Thrillsville. Aren't you supposed to use free agency to -improve- your team?

(The silver lining: between Athletica goaltender Hope Solo and Feeley's wife Heather Mitts, St. Louis can stake a claim as America's best-looking soccer city.)

The Rams did sign Craig Dahl, a backup safety, to a three-year deal. Dahl's a nice player, but that contract is surprisingly long. Then again, add that to the team's apparent determination to screw Oshiomogho Atogwe. They gamed this year's CBA by tendering him for $5 million less than he made last year. If they don't match an offer sheet for him, they don't even get compensation. Yeah, that's a great idea, drive off your only defensive playmaker. Atogwe's about the only guy on this defense who ever forces a turnover. But let's lowball him and get him pissed off at the team after he came to camp last year and practiced without a contract. Yeah, that's how you want to do business. But Steve Spagnuolo knows Craig Dahl, I guess. You'd think Spagnuolo would know him well enough, then, to know:

- Other than hitting, Dahl doesn't do anything as well as Atogwe does. Spags should have been able to see that even in only one season here.
- You'd especially think he knows Dahl's been injured most of his career. Torn both ACLs since 2007.

I hope I'm misreading what they're doing at safety, because if it's Dahl in and Atogwe out, there's another position at which they've gotten worse and less physically sound.

I'd better be misreading this whole thing. So far in free agency, a bunch of teams have taken off down the track, and the Rams are still in the starting gate.

Taking a dump.