Thursday, November 19, 2009

QB Trades in LA Rams History.

The LA Rams made a trade in 1986 that may have finally gotten the LA Rams a quarterback.

No it was not the Jim Everrett trade later than year. It was a draft day trade with their arch rival, the SF 49ers.

The LA Rams traded to 49ers:

QB, Jeff Kemp
1986 4th round pick #96 Charles Haley
1986 4th round pick #101 Steve Wallace.

49ers to LA Rams

1986 4th round pick. Which should have been pick #66. But the NFL took 20 minutes to make the deal official. Jeff Kemp was unsigned. At that time in the NFL, you couldn't trade unsigned players. So the NFL took 20 minutes to correctly "word" the trade, the LA Rams actually traded "the rights" to Jeff Kemp.

If the LA Rams were able to keep pick #66 the would have taken QB Bubby Brister, but since teams are suppose to make their selections within 5 minutes, the LA Rams pick became pick #71 and they choosed QB Hugh Millen.

Of course in hindsight, if the LA Rams had drafted Charles Haley and Steve Wallace, they would have gotten a pass rushing LB and an All Pro RT. Both Millen and Brister had journeyman careers in the NFL.

The above information from an Sports Illustrated story.

http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1136972/index.htm

The Real Downfall of the LA Rams

Let's go back to 1984. 25 years ago. At that time the United States Football League was signing away college stars like Steve Young and Mike Rozier. Steve Young signed with the LA Express of the USFL for a then record, $40 million contract. One magazine said that the USFL signed eight players who would have been 1st round draft picks in the NFL Draft. Steve Young, Mike Rozier, Reggie White, and Herschel Walkers were among those players. Walkers signed with the New Jersey Generals in 1983, after his junior year at Georgia.

The LA Rams were coming off a playoff season in 1983 behind the running of Eric Dickerson. But they needed a passing game to go with the Eric Dickerson. Vince Ferragamo was the Rams starting QB in 1983.

The LA Raiders won the Super Bowl with a pair of cornerbacks that dominated the Washington Redskins WR's. Now every team was looking for shutdown corners. In the 1984 draft, two cornerbacks were drafted in the top 10, Mossy Cade by the Chargers, #6 overall and Leonard Coleman by that damn team in Indy, #8 overall. Ironically both would sign with the USFL after being drafted by cheap bastard owners.

In 1983 the Rams starting cornerbacks were LeRoy Irvin, who was also a great punt returner and Eric Harris, a player they acquired from the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Rams had pick #21 in the 1st round, going into the 1984 NFL Draft. The Rams would trade that pick to the KC Chiefs for CB Gary Green. Green had made three straight Pro Bowls and made All Pro, three straight times, with the Chiefs.

Green would play for the LA Rams for two seasons, 1984 and 1985. He was All Pro in both 84 and 85, making the Pro Bowl in 1985. But in late 1985 Green suffered a neck injury that would prove to be career ending. In 1986 Green officially retired from the NFL.

The KC Chiefs draft OT, John Alt with the pick acquired from the LA Rams. If the LA Rams had kept the pick, they could have drafted QB Boomer Esiason, from Maryland. In fact Sports Illustrated's mock draft had the LA Rams drafting Esiason. At worst the LA Rams would have had a young QB to develop behind Ferragamo.

But the decisions and choices made after 1984 really proved the LA Rams made a huge mistake by not drafting Boomer Esiason.

LA Rams 1984

Why did I choose LA Rams 1984 for the title of this blog? Simple, that was the year the the LA Rams made the mistake that would lead to the Rams moving to St. Louis ten years later.

I will present information about the decisions that lead to the LA Rams downfall and move to St. Louis.

I do not blame the city of Anaheim for the LA Rams moving. Though that city wasted tons of taxpayer's dollars on their lawsuit against the LA Angels of Anaheim.

I do put the blame on the owner, head coach and front office staff who made terrible decisions in 1984 that led to the downfall of the LA Rams.