Suitors are dropping fast in the Atogwe saga. Personally, let him remain a Ram. With him as a FS they have gone 6-42 in the last three years. I am expecting him and his agent to realize his real worth is going to be Zippo real soon. If the guy is smart he will take whatever the Rams are offering as it seems they are the only ones that really offered anything yet.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/06/04/vikings-formally-opt-out-of-atogwe-bidding/

 

It appears I am not the only one that is not interested in paying the Kings Ransom he and his agent are evidently looking for. Neighbor down the block is a HUGE Rams fan and in DVRd just about every game in the last three years. OJ does have take aways but since we were interested spent some time and a few six packs at his house and believe me, OJ also gets burnt pretty bad by better recievers.

If you look at the yards thrown against the Rams and Touchdowns scored against the Rams in the last three years, with OJ, they are almost identical to what we did. Number of passes thrown against them are no different either, I thought that number would be far greater as the Rams have zero pass rush, they are almost identical as ours. Simply put, last year they had a new coach, he had no choice but to franchise tag this kid. Atogwe and his agent are on crack if he thinks that a 29 year old FS in the NFL coming off a team that has been a bottom feeder for the last three yeas and to boot, throw in MAJOR shoulder surgery, is going to get a mega payday. Crack or swamp spirits or really bad drugs, thats what both of them are on. Let the Rams keep him, no one will care and no one will notice if he is there or not there. They are just plain bad, with OJ or without OJ.

 

Great picture, that about sums up the St. louis Rams atmosphere.:up: I am not as smart as the team owners or I would be a billionaire but it seems the ones that are billionaires are a little hesitant to seperate with the coinage they are requestion. The Rams on the other hand ? Crap, they are not even sure who their owner is going to be from week to week.:lol:

 

This whole Atogwe thing , IMO, hinges on OJ himself. The Rams probably made what would be considered a fair offer. Out of all the teams that know him the best, they do. I never said he was responsible for helping to lose games. If he was good as most are hyping him to be then whey are the teams in his own conference, Cardinals, and they lost Rolle, 49ers, he dates Singletarys daughter, and the Seahawks, not interested in retaining his services ?

Who knows, none of us do. If he did not have recent shoulder surgery this probably would have changed the whole picture, but he did have surgery.

I am starting to believe that the Rams did make him a decent offer, not mega, but one where he can live comfortable for a long time. I also believe from what I read, him and his coach, Steve Spanuolo, have a great relationship and basically Atogwe told him that he wanted to see if he could do better and if he couldn't, then he would be back to sit down and sign with the Rams again. This being a business, what else could Spagnuolo say but, hey, go ahead, I understand.

Unless Atogwe really wants to get out of St. Louis bad, and seeing the fact no other teams are in a hurry to bid for his services. OJ Atogwe , considering the above, will be a Ram in 2010. It appears up to this point the Rams are the only ones that have offered him anything. His agent is handling this the same we any of us would do if we were selling a personal vehicle. Market it at one given price, all the while knowing the actual price you would accept for it. Its no different, all the NFL players have turned into nothing more then products these days. Whoever has the best salesman representing their product, gets the most in contract money.

 

This is comments from today up in St. Louis. As I thought, the kid is shopping and the Rams appear ready to match any decent offer given him but not go overboard. In the end I think the Rams are going to be his only choice. I have to think if he is as good as some think then the shoulder surgery is a big red flag for a team to sign him to a large contract. Or, as I think, he is no better or worse then what the supposed interested teams already have on their rosters. I still say if he was as much as an impact player as hawked, teams in his own division would be stepping over themselves for his services. You guys understand how I feel that way ?

Quiet on the Atogwe front
Saturday makes the fourth day that safety Oshiomogho Atogwe has been a free agent, and the only sound has been the door slamming shut by supposedly interested teams.

Several teams had been rumored to be interested in pursuing Atogwe, but several including Dallas, San Francisco and Minnesota have claimed they won’t pursue him. Miami and Detroit have been other teams mentioned, and no one from either team has yet to comment on their alleged interest.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said, “I’m ready to go into our season with the safeties we have.” Vikings coach Brad Childress said Friday the team “has “no interest.” A report out of Detroit said Atogwe’s asking price is “extremely high.”

As for the notion that Atogwe is looking to leave the Rams because he was upset by the original low tender, general manager Billy Devaney said, “I don’t think that’s the case. He was probably disappointed, but he understood the business part of it.”

Devaney acknowledged that if another team came forward with a huge offer, the Rams would likely be moving on without him, but so far, that hasn’t been the case.

Concluded Devaney, “O.J. knows how we feel about him. We are a better team with him here. Our hope is that after he tests the market, he will come back to us. We’re trying to get to a happy medium.”

 

Then why in an uncapped year, in his own division, the NFC West which is admittedly most likely the weakest division in the NFL, doesn't their coaches and GMs and Owners jump on this potential " pro bowl " player ?

Especially the Cardinals, they lost Rolle and do not want to replace him with Atogwe ? Does not make sense at all. Never said the kid was not a good player but a borderline pro bowl player ? If he was that close to borderline, 31 NFL teams would be lining up at his agents door way since 30 seconds after the bidding was permitted to commence. Would not mind him on the team at all but by no means is this guy worthy of a huge contract that apparently him and his agent are looking for. If he was worthy, he would have signed one by now. How long did Rolle last on the open market ? IMO, he is not as good as Rolle would have been in our D.

 

Where he goes and what deal he signs all depends on what OJ is looking for. One year deal outside the Rams may just be what the Dr. ordered for him. If he is unsure of his shoulder and the Rams are offering what appears to be a decent deal over a period of years, then that is his best choice. I am still in the opinion that if he is as good as some hawk him to be, then any team in the NFL West would be glad to have his services which is plainly not the case here. I really think he wants to stay with the Rams. He just wanted to shop around and see if he could up there offer some. The statement I posted by their GM makes that somewhat clear. If he is offered something better then what the Rams offered they would look at it. If he is offered something out of the ballpark from what the Rams offered, they would move on.

As of yet, he has not even gotten a base hit no less a home run offer. This tells me most teams simply do not want to take the chance on him. One year deal at a reasonable price ? sign him. His agent and him are looking for more then that though, have to be , if several teams have openly made it known " The asking price is too high "

I do not know a lot in life but I do know, I am not a billionaire and if employees representing billionaires are saying his asking price is too high, I have to believe them.

 

No, I do not think in any way that Atogweis a horrible player at all. I just think he is not on the cusp of being a pro bowler. Until his shoulder injury from what I can tell, is he played every game. Have not watched a lot of games, just the ones my neighbor has on his DVR. He is a die hard fan and even thinks OJ is not worth the 7 mil a year they tagged him with last year. Apparently there was a coaching search and this guy Spanuolo did not get hired until late Jan, so he had no choice but to tag Atogwe or lose him.

From what the neighbor tells me, the pass rush has sukked the last few years. Evidently they had several first round draft picks on Defense not work out at all. I know we need help at the S position but again, if Atogwe was as good as being hyped, why aren't the other teams in the NFL that need FS help even interested in him ? Thats my question. The only answer I can come up with, they are asking far too much money for his services. If he was as good as advertised, Danny Boy in Washington or Jerry Jones would have beat each other up already with the bidding.

Rolle did not last too long did he ? Why is this guy still around, one has to ask himself.

 

You keep speaking of an injury history. Outside of his shoulder surgery this year and perhaps a sports hernia, which is not uncommon even in college. Where is there a history outside of this last season ? I see none. Almost every player in the NFL has had some sort of surgery, albeit, shoulder surgery is a little complex. Just the same, I guess by your way of thinking then at least 70% of NFL players have an " injury history " Correct ?

 

I am to be impressed that now all the club level members have entered the fray ? The portion I copied is and has been, my exact point. He is not worth the money they are looking for. Thats what I have said from the beginning. I have never said he is not a good football player, I have never said he is on the cusp of being a Pro Bowl Player. I have never said he is SOLELY responsible for all the deep TDs that were thrown against the Rams. I DID say Steve Spagnuolo had no choice but to Franchise tag the player for the year because he had no one else available and yes, Atogwe did have a good year in 2008. He was better then what was available and far more experienced then what they could pick up in the draft. Do not blame them.

If members of the above level of this board wish to start issueing comments such as this guy is on crack, I am game for that too. I will repeat what I have said from the start, the ones of the upper tier, of which I have no interest in attending, may, at their choice, take whatever meaning they wish and twist it as they wish.

OJ Atogwe is a good football player. OJ Atogwe just had MAJOR shoulder surgery and has not passed a physical yet. OJ Atogwe is NOT THAT GOOD to receive the 110% ( 6.9 MILLION ) of his 2009 salary. IF OJ Atogwe can pass a physical and will come down to planet earth and accept what the team thinks he is worth , then yes, sign him. If not, let him stay a Ram.

Now, I believe I have just about covered all of it. You may proceed with the twisting, imaginary sentences and if you wish, name calling.:up: It really has no affect whatsoever. It does not change the fact, his price is falling daily, that does not happen and a can't miss player, usually doesn't and I BELIEVE, he is just out price shopping and IF there is not an offer close to what he is being hawked for, he will do one of two things.

A Go back and sign with the Rams after his agent tries to punch them around a bit more.
or
B. IF he does not want to be a Ram anylonger, most likely sign a one year deal with a better team if the offer is to his likeing.

Alrighty then, lets see what is intrepreted out of the above for the 30th time. I still stand by the original heading of the post. His value is dropping daily. One may even perceive his value is plummeting soon to hit its floor.

 

Did not mean anything by it at all. Atogwe is a hot topic, I just felt my thoughts were being twisted into something I did not even say or think. Have been on many boards in my lifetime and many, VIP, Club Level, regardless of the name. I find this regular message board and its posters to be one of the best I have been on, lots of fun and most people actually can have a conversation prior to them saying someone is on crack !!!!!!!!

I am very aware of how message board Hierarchy works. The supposed " insiders " fly down to the level of the gentils when one of their own is being spoken to in a manner that stuns them. I got it, no problem with me, I just do not fold like a cheap towel. Thats all I was saying. They all can fly down and perch right in my face at the same time, does not phase me one bit. I will talk football aaaaaaaaaaaaaallll day and night long.