Rams Offseason thread

Barry Richardson is a free agent and most likely will not be brought back... at least not as a starter.

mutigers that is exactly what the line would look like with Watkins the backup at guard or if it takes time for Warmack to get started.  I think Fisher would be fine and along with Warmack will learn together.  Some growing pains there but their toughness and talent, especially in the run game will make it work.  Saffold on the RT spot is better suited.  They might look at a free agent backup Center or bring back Turner.  Only problem is and if Richardson leaves is the backup for Tackle,but Fisher and Snead will figure that out.

Also, I didn't address in my thoughts about Steven Jackson and Danny Amendola as FAs.  Steven Jackson has done everything and a half for the Rams in his time since we drafted him.  I want him to get to the playoffs and no hard feelings if he left for the horizon with a playoff shot.  That being said, I think he wants to do that with the Rams and a discussion with him about a smaller role might just bring him back.  Whether he comes back or not, the Rams must move forward with the thought that in some time forward, a new running back in necessary.

As for Amendola, I also think he wants to stay and should.  A poor man's Wes Welker is exactly what the Rams need in the passing game.  His heart and determation pushes other guys to go harder.  That is hard to replace on any team.  Sign him again and I would look to a wide body, tall, fast guy in the FA market that commands a double team to help the other young receivers get single coverage and expand the passing game.  I know several do not like Dwayne Bowe, but he is the type of player, that will help the passing game a great deal.

Yes Pigpen, I am one of those that does not want Bowie. While I believe he is very talented, I think he takes plays off, and he was in top 10 in NFL in passes dropped this year, he also holds the single game RECORD for dropped passes. And for a lot of people on here that was a big issue all year and the WR were blamed for Bradfords poor showings, sometimes! Only 6 TEAMS in the NFL had fewer drops than the Rams as a team, so that is not the issue, our WR are fine. I think, if some absolute stud came along, then yes I'd love to have him, but with our QB, running game, oline,and offensive schemes I don't see anyone improving our pass game that much. I think we have a very good YPUNG group of WR's. As always that's just my opinion, but that's how I see's it!

Your exactly right about the WRs smed, I think they have made strides to get better and if the o-line is upgraded, that will give Bradford more time to hit open receivers.  My only thinking was that we have no one at this time that commands a double team, and that for most teams like the Bears-Marshall, Texans-Johnson, Lions-Megatron, Chiefs-Bowe, Thomas-Broncos and Redskins-Garcon helps their passing game a lot.  Now teams like the Patriots, Packers and Falcons do not have that big guy but they do have Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan and more than one go to guy.  Maybe Sam gets in to that discussion but without a Vincent, Jennings, Colston, Green, White or Jones in the lineup, will our Givens, Gibson, Quick, Pettis ever reach up to even their stature?  I just don't know.

YES they will, I hope! :)

Yes Pigpen, I am one of those that does not want Bowie. While I believe he is very talented, I think he takes plays off, and he was in top 10 in NFL in passes dropped this year, he also holds the single game RECORD for dropped passes.

You are judging a man on a bad team, with a bad QB, and also a bad coach.  Oh and throw in the franchise tag and you got = FRUSTRATION.



Dwayne Bowe with Sam, and a better O-line, with Fisher....  Much improved.      

As far as having a dominant receiver goes, I'd rather have 2 1000 yard guys than 1 2000 yard guys. Just my opinion. 

Also, I'm probably about as extreme as you'll find in the anti-Bowe camp. True competitors pick up their lunch pale and go to work no matter the circumstances, just like SJ has for years. Bowe has not done that, and I don't expect him to stay happy at all times anywhere. Let's say he goes off for a little while and everyone is peachy. But then Quick develops a little bit, Givens catches a fair number of deep balls, and all this opens up Amendola who starts putting up great numbers in the slot. All of a sudden Bowe is just another guy and his ego gets too big for that. I just don't see it working out. Selfish football players tend to be selfish wherever they go.  

Back to the O-line for a second. The latest article I have read indicates Fisher wants to go huge and massive on the O-line. He likes both Warmack and Fluker from Alabama. He is probably going after Warmack and Fluker because both of these guys are very big and powerful. Warmack is a special talent and Fluker is an underclassman that has some pretty good talent. 

Right now, we have on the roster: Saffold, 6-5, 314, Dahl, 6-5, 308, Wells, 6-2, 305, Barksdale, 6-5, 330, Williams, 6-6, 320, Nsekhe, 6-8, 325, Watkins, 6-3, 338, Washington, 6-4, 325, Turner, 6-4, 308, Smith, 6-5, 297, and Barnes, 6-3, 308. Richardson (6-5, 314) is a free agent and Smith is too small and does not play very well and will peobably be gone. 

If Fisher picks up Warmack (6-3, 335) and Fluker (6-6, 330) he is not going after Eric Fisher as much because Eric Fisher is smallish and Jeff Fisher wants bigger O-lineman. Guys that play under 320 are going to be less of a priority than guys ten-twenty pounds heavier except for the center position where Wells and Turner are smallish under Jeff Fisher's apparent new definition of big.

So next year, our O-line could very well be from left to right: Barksdale (or Nsekhe), Watkins, Wells, Warmack, Fluker with Saffold, Williams, Washington, Dahl, Turner and maybe Barnes as back-ups. Smith is odd-man out. If Jeff Fisher stays with Saffold at left tackle and drafts Warmack and Fluker, then the line could look like from left to right: Saffold, Watkins, Wells, Warmack, and Fluker (or Barksdale and Nsekhe).

So we may see a very new and very big O-line that features power and massiveness the likes of resembles much of the rest of the league. Whoever it is, Fisher has made it clear that he wants excellent blocking on both run AND pass and he wants Sammie protected from getting the krap knocked out of him.

When Fisher was with Tennessee, he watched David Carr get utterly ruined by a FO office that did not provide Carr with suffiicent protection and Fisher has vowed to not have that happen to Sammie here in St Louis. So, we shall see has things unfold and how the draft goes but our O-line is going to be way bigger and hopefully way better. retroram.

Also, I'm probably about as extreme as you'll find in the anti-Bowe camp. True competitors pick up their lunch pale and go to work no matter the circumstances, just like SJ has for years. Bowe has not done that, and I don't expect him to stay happy at all times anywhere. Let's say he goes off for a little while and everyone is peachy. But then Quick develops a little bit, Givens catches a fair number of deep balls, and all this opens up Amendola who starts putting up great numbers in the slot. All of a sudden Bowe is just another guy and his ego gets too big for that. I just don't see it working out. Selfish football players tend to be selfish wherever they go. 

     


Like i said, you are judging a man and you don't know what it's like to play with a QB that is so bad, while getting the franchise tag.  KC has had no direction.  5 pro bowlers and 2 wins??  And I would take Randy Moss back in his prime in a heartbeat.   He took plays off and had an attitude.  And show me a #1 WR in the game today that is not selfish.  All good WR's in the NFL want the ball and if they have a team and QB that's awful, they tend to lose focus.  Especially at 23-25 years old.  Comparing SJAX and Bowe is night and day.  A RB sees alot more touches than a WR.


I get that Bowe had alot of drops.  I get that he didn't play to his full capabilities.  But put a talented guy on a talented team and watch what happens when the bar is raised.   Put Bowe around Pettis, Gibson, Amendola, Givens all making great catches and watch how contagious it is.   Bowe would be fine and a nice upgrade for this team.

And the Rams never franchise tagged SJAX.  They sat down and worked on the team around SJAX.

Bowe is in a situation where he's 25 and playing on a 1 year deal with a QB that couldn't hit a barn.

Do the math.     

Junkie, a lot of the stuff you've said about Bowe is fair, I'm still worried. That being said if Fisher sits down with the guy and trusts him enough to bring him in, then I'll trust Jeff Fisher. If its up to me I don't touch him, but I'm not the 1 calling the shots. It'll also be interesting to see if he has interest in going back to KC now that Andy Reid is there. 

retro, this is what I was talking about when I said I'll let someone else talk about the O-line, great post. Do Warmack and Fluker play opposite sides at Bama or are they next to each other? If they're next to each other then let's bring them in and let that continue. 

I am pretty sure both of them play on the Left side mutigers... but I could not swear to it.

Mutigers: FYI, I played the O-line in my football career and ended it at Linebacker in college back in the day. So I have a kindred spirit with both lines and the linebackers.

Warmack is a left guard and Fluker is a right tackle. Warmack is such a talent and his size is immense and with Fisher and Boudreau salivating over this guy, he'll probably play either guard spot for us wherever the need is. Fluker is a underclassman and he is also a huge man but may have to sit for a year because his versatility is less and he may take awhile before he plays at right tackle getting use to the pro game.

So we have some options but I suspect that both of these guys have a pretty good chance of ending up with us. This is why Williams, Barksdale, and Nsekhe are key if Saffold moves to the right side and still plays. Fisher wants players who get rid of the mental mistakes and stupid penalities and still block well in both the run and pass. If Saffold remains and moves to the right side, then there is a good chance we'll see the O-line left-to-right of: Barksdale or Nsekhe (both huge men) Watkins (The Rock also huge), Wells, Warmack (huge) or Williams (Also huge and played pretty well and if Warmack is gone in the draft), and Saffold (not so huge at 6-5, 314). If saffold stays on the left side, then just flip Barksdale to the right side and Nsekhe goes to back-up.

If Saffold goes to back-up status, then we may see Nsekhe, Watkins, Wells, Warmack, and Barksdale which is a huge-freakin' line. Nsekhe is 6-8, 325, Watkins is 6-3, 338, Wells is the small guy at 6-3, 308, Warmack is 6-3, 335, and Barksdale is 6-5, 330. The outliers are Williams at 6-6, 320 and Brandon Washington at 6-4, 320 and if they decide to bring Richardson back. I doubt it if Richardson returns because his pass blocking remains suspect and he is a FA. 

If Warmack gets selected before us in the first, then this whole scenario gets re-shuffled again depending who is selected in his place. Anything can happen in the draft and we shall see what transpires. retroram.   

If anyone is interested, you can watch Warmack and Fluker Monday night in the BCS championship game against Notre Dame. These guys are Clydesdales and it would be really peachy if we drafted both. retroram.

retro, great idea. I hadn't heard a thing about that game...

Makes sense why you like the line then, when it comes to baseball I'm that way with catchers because of when I played.

Also retro, what do you think of Kyle Long out of Oregon? 

Hey mutigers: Kyle is much bigger than his brother at 6-7 and 315. He is probably a better player than say our Saffold and he may be good enough to get a camp invite from say us as he is listed as a 2-4 round pick guy. Like we did with Jake Long's brother and Bobby Hebert's son last year, he may get drafted but probably not by us unless Chris does any campaigning. If he does not get drafted, he'll definitely get a camp invite by us.

Fisher and Snead like Ricky Wagner, the big tackle out of Wisconsin and they will select Wagner before they'll take Long unless they pull a trigger they are not letting on about. So, anything is possible but I doubt if he'll be a Ram by drafting. He will however play somewhere and he'll be a good one down the road. I think that it is the way it'll play out but I could be very wrong as I have been before. retroram.
 

Kyle Long sure as hell helped make the Wildcat defense look foolish last night!!


I would not be opposed to using a 4th rounder on Kyle if he is there....young depth is NEVER a bad thing. But like Retro said, the Rams brass LOVES the Bama guys, Matthews from TAMU (Fisher coached his father Bruce) and Wagner... my guess is 2 of those will be on the Rams roster next fall.

I am also hearing alot about the local boy Montee Ball being a HUGE favorite of Fisher. I personally like LeVeon Bell better than Ball but it would not hurt my feelings if the Rams drafted Ball (nice local boy does good story)


We are going to have minimum 8 picks. I suggest that we break it down like this: 2 OL, 2 LB, 1 RB, 1 FS, 1 WR, 1 DL


If we do this and hit home runs on 3 of them or more... expect BIG things!!

Yes KSUDodgers, you are right on all counts and I am hearing the same thing about the O-line likes and dislikes of Fisher and Snead as you listed. I am fairly certain we will end up with both Warmack and Fluker and one of the following three in the Safety department: Reid, Elam, or Vaccaro. I also have read Fisher's like for Montee Ball as well.

I too would not be offended if we landed Kyle Long in the fourth as he has the makings of being just as much of a bad a$$ on the offensive side of the ball as his brother is on the defensive side. I too would not mind Montee Ball to go along with Jackson, Ganaway, Pead, Richardson, and Chase Reynolds who spent the year on the practice squad. 

I hope Chase Thomas will fall to us because he is a big OLB but we will see how things play out. The WR and DL is going to come in the mid rounds and the WR may be one of those big TEs that appear to be many in this draft. All-in-all, our roster is going to be one-helluva bunch of young bada$$es who will only get better. 2013 is looking pretty darn good right now! retroram.   

okay here is a thought...Don't crucify me on this.  I'm going on a limb and say that David Amerson (NC State) falls to us as his draft stock has slipped this year.  He was mentioned to be a top 10 pick but had a down year and has declared to go pro.  Now he he has a OK combine he may project to Safety at the next level and he has great size at 6-3 200. 

Yes I am a homer to my alma mater lol

jermaine, I wont crucify you, but I won't really join your camp either. 

Thanks for the thought on Long retro. You pretty much put more reasoning behind what I already thought. I really like him but don't see him being a Ram.

KSU, I actually got on here with the intention of bring up Montee Ball. As I've stated previously I really like Le'veon Bell, but watching Ball in the Rose Bowl(I'll admit I hadn't watched Wasconsin play much this year) he disproved a lot of what I didn't like about him. Earlier in his career he didn't have the speed/power combiination he now has. If SJ is gone I definitely want him, if SJ is still here then I'm glad to add him to the stable of young backs. One day SJ will retire and if he leaves Richardson, Pead, and Ball behind then I'm ok with that. 

Another talking point: where do you guys see Tyrann Mathieu going in the draft? What teams do you see being interested and in what round?
 

ok here's the latest mock for the Rams, but I have to throw in something 1st..


Sammy Wadkins - next year  

this year:

1a Chance Warmack, OG Bama
1b Cordarrelle Patterson, WR Vols
2 DJ Fluker , OT Bama
3 Jordan Reed, TE Florida
3 Baccari Rambo, FS Georgia
4 Terry Hawthorne, CB/KR Illinoise


Pick up William Moore or Jarius Byrd in FA.  sign SJAX to a 2 year deal.  Find some beast to play OLB.


That's who I want to see in a Rams uni next year.   I have been yelling for years about drafting a pocket passer #1 overall and not having an O-line.  Get Sam 2 beasts from Bama and let's roll.  I'm tired of excuses.  Grow a set and game on. 

where do you guys see Tyrann Mathieu

"experts" will say 4th or 5th, but no one really knows until the combine.  I say the 2nd or 3rd.

Hey Sportsjunkie: I like your mock and the picks would do it for me too. Byrd in FA would be very nice and the two horses from Alabama would complete everything you have stated with Sammie and the like. retroram.

I've been thinking I want Warmack, Reid, Fluker with the top 3 picks. I however would be just fine with picking Patterson instead of Reid if Rambo is picked in the 3rd. I like it Junkie.

As far as Willy Mo goes, he was always one of my favorite Tigers. In your scenario would you like to see Moore start next to Mikell next year and eventually shift Moore over and insert Rambo next to him? 

I hope the Rams pick up William Moore and that will end the direct need for a SS but if that doesn't happen, we have to get Matt Elam.  This guy just slugs it out.  He is a smaller safety at 5-10 or so but a crusher and will come up and pound.  No running back is going to want to get into the 2nd level.  Just remember Dahl is a SS not FS and he is the guy that needs to go.  I understand the Patterson want but WR is not our biggest need, the o-line fix is.  To drop the Redskins 1st rounder on a WR seems to be a a stride off course. 

You're right Blue, Willy Mo would fit right in at SS. I over thought the situation a bit and confused myself. If you don't mind I want to step onto my soap box and go on a little rant about Willy Mo. 

Manti Te'o had 103 tackles this year along with 1.5 sacks, 7 INTs and 1 fumble recovery. In 2007 William Moore had 115 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 TD and 2 forced fumbles. Can someone please explain to me any logical explanation to why Manti Te'o deserved to be a Heisman finalist and Willy Mo got no talk at all? 

I'd be ok with William Moore.  He's a thumper.

You know the guy I'm really high on is Jordan Reed, TE Florida.  Big, fast with good hands.  He's a bigger Aaron Hernandez (who wanted instead of Kendricks and AH went in the 4th or 5th!).  I hope this guy last until the 3rd and we scoop him up.

Regardless, another big TE with Patterson would give Sam 2 more big playmakers and the 2 Bama O-linemen give Sam more protection.

I honestly think we will be fine at RB even if we don't sign SJAX.  Fisher may try to find a poor man's Eddie George somewhere and we already have 2 poor man's Chris Johnson with Pead and Richardson. 

Can someone please explain to me any logical explanation to why Manti Te'o deserved to be a Heisman finalist and Willy Mo got no talk at all? 

TEBOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

also making headlines that year were Darren McFadden, Colt Brennan, and Chase Daniel

very offensive minded that year