After not experiencing a winning record during eight seasons with the Cardinals, who drafted him out of Wake Forest in 1990, Seahawks, and Bears, besides hope, there were a couple of reasons why veteran receiver Ricky Proehl signed with the Rams as a free agent in 1998.

A former offensive coordinator who was now doing the same job in St. Louis, and a head coach, who he had watched as a kid turn around the Philadelphia Eagles, and who was also doing the same job with the Rams.

"Jerry Rhome and Coach (Dick) Vermeil," Proehl said. "Jerry was our offense coordinator with Arizona, and I grew up in the New York metropolitan area, but got a lot of Philadelphia TV stations. So I grew up watching Vermeil. But the biggest thing was Jerry. I really liked Jerry. He knew my strengths; he knew how to

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