I posted a mid-September edition here that ranked the best offensive linemen at T, G, and C.  This time out, I'm just going to list my top 10 linemen, regardless of where they play on the line.  With Orlando Pace aging (quickly), the Rams will need a legitimate left tackle soon, if not next year.  Finding a quality OT who can play on the left side can be tough, but this year's draft offers serious contenders.  At center and guard, we've seen the damage mediocrity can do.  So, a list of ten players who would make a difference for the Rams in '09 after the fold.

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It was ugly.  Very ugly.  And I don't grade on a curve.

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  I give thanks for fellow Rams fans with whom I share my disappointments.  I give thanks for football.  Not that the Rams have played it recently, but when I watch good football, I'm just glad it exists.

  I give thanks for Thanksgiving as a perfect occasion to share the great American triumvirate of male Americana with family: sports, food, and alcohol.  I give thanks for each of those three independently, and none more than the others.

  I give thanks for having been able to move back to the U.S.  Look, Europe (and Germany) is great, but I'm an American, and more specifically, I'm a Southerner.  I give thanks for the South, and my fellow Southern neighbors, dumb as we are.

  I give thanks for a place to live, a TV (soon) and satellite to fill that TV with HD sports (sooner).  I'm thankful for HD in general.  It's hard to watch standard TV once you've seen sports in HD.

  I give thanks SBNation for TST and for giving Rams fans like myself, VanRam, taiko, Tackle Box, and ksmooth a place to vent.  I give thanks to Van for keeping this place going.  It takes more than most sports fans have to keep a running dialogue going as long as he has.

  I give thanks to my wife for understanding my passion for sports.  I give thanks to my dad for introducing me to sports.  And I thank sports for existing.

  In the words of Abe Simpson:

About my washtub, I used it that morning to wash my turkey, which in those days was known as a walking bird. We'd always have walking bird on Thanksgiving with all the trimmings: cranberries, injun eyes, and yams stuffed with gunpowder. Then we'd all watch football, which in those days was called baseball.

  Happy Thanksgiving, Rams fans.  Even you, Jay Zygmunt.  I hate you.

Just wanted to let everyone know I've been checking in rarely over the last two weeks or so, in case you're wondering where the annoying guy who does the pre-game diaries has been.

I left Germany, got married, and am driving from Dallas to Savannah, Georgia tomorrow (16 hours).  I should have a home (and hopefully an internet connection) by next Friday.

Just wanted to let everyone know I'm not dead.

Let's hope my move to Georgia coincides with a turnaround in the Rams season.

Go Rams! (and see you guys soon)

What's good, Pats fans?  It's 3k from TurfShowTimes, the Rams' SBNation blog.  MaPatsFan dropped a Q&A on our site, so I've offered one here.  I'll try to get to all of your comments as timely as I can, but after having lived in Germany for the last two years, I'm leaving tomorrow and coming back to the States, so bear with me.

The Rams have played two seasons this year.  In season 1, Scott Linehan looked sad.  In season 2, Jim Haslett looks excited, and for good reason.  Under Linehan, we started out 0-4 and looked worse than any team in the league.  Under Haslett, we beat the Redskins (who at the time were "the hottest team in the NFL") and followed up by destroying the Cowboys.  Honestly, none of us has any idea which team is going to show up on any Sunday.

The offensive trio still have Pro-Bowl talent: Marc Bulger, Steven Jackson, and Torry Holt.  Donnie Avery, our rookie WR and the first WR taken in this year's draft, never got playing time under Linehan, but Haslett has put him on the field, and his speed has made plays.  Defensively, #2 overall pick Chris Long plays every down at full speed to complement Leonard Little on the strong side.  The linebacking corps has stepped up the last two weeks with Will Witherspoon in the middle and Pisa Tinoisamoa's great play on the weak side.  The secondary's best play has come from O.J. Atogwe.  He has a nose for takeaways, evidenced by last week's pair of interceptions.

I tried to keep the summary short for those of you who haven't seen or read any Rams news.  I'll try to get to your questions as quickly as possible.  Holler.

When I first graded a Rams performance (given against the Giants here), it was so we could get a feel as to where we needed to draft, specifically LB vs. OT.  Today, it's just to congratulate the entire team for playing the way we knew they could from day 1.

When Haslett took over the team, I wrote a piece called "The season begins again."  If you scroll down to the bottom, you catch one of my constant rants - not playing Donnie Avery enough.  If you draft the first WR in the entire NFL draft, you need to get him on the field in week 1.  Granted he was injured in the preseason, but when he healed up, Linehan still kept him sidelined.  A catch to set up the game winner in Washington and today's tone-setting opening TD later, and Avery will have a bandwagon coming if he doesn't already.  Enough.  Grades being handed out....now.

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 - Romo sat out Friday's practiced, reported ESPN here.  Doesn't mean a whole lot, given that he practiced Wednesday and Thursday.

 - On our side, Orlando Pace will be a game-time decision.  The STL Dispatch reported here that Pace went through some individual drills, but Haslett will wait until Sunday to make the call.

 - Jim Thomas, from the Dispatch, pens a great article looking at the offense's inefficiency so far this season and why it won't get us a W on Sunday.

 - First brought to TST by our own ksmooth (here), Richie Incongnito racked up $35,000 in fines for a trio of penalties from last weekend.  ESPN's report here.  The "verbal abuse" on the ref cost him $25k.  My only question is why it took the league until Friday to levy the fine.  Certainly they could have dropped this on Monday...

 - And lastly, some cool animations from Scouts, Inc. at ESPN.  I really love this stuff.  They detail 6 plays here that Roy Williams (WR) will play a part in now that he's a Cowboy.

  Has anybody heard anything about the Cowboys this week?

  Breakdown after the fold.

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At least September is over.  Not much I want to remember from it.

Unfortunately, I've been too busy to do an official 3k preview of the game.  Sorry.  Consider this a pre-game thread.

Here's hoping Haslett & Co. get off to a good start.