Saturday, August 13, 2011

Rams Wide Receiver Review

It's been a while since I posted an update because of the lockout. Now that football is back, the St. Louis Rams wasted no time upgrading the key areas that need attention. The wide receiver position was the focus of the draft as the Rams drafted a potential red-zone threat with TE Lance Kendricks and two sure handed wideouts in Austin Pettis and Greg Salas. On the free agency market Rams signed to a one-year deal Mike Sims-Walker adding more sure hand recievers for Sam Bradford. On the mix is Mark Clayton which was Bradfords favorite target aside from slot receiver extraordinaire Danny Amendola.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Who is the heir to Adam Timmerman?

The Rams has been having problems holding fort at the right guard position since All-Pro Adam Timmerman retired. Since then it was a revolving chair on that position Richie Incognito man the position but character issues cut his stay in St.Louis short; Mark Setterstrom also did good manning the position but injuries keep creeping up and decided to let him go as a free agent. Then there is the project on using  utility man OG/OT Adam Goldberg and OG John Greco. With the Rams tendering Greco shows that they still have some confidence on him and as football expert says "he just need some competition to prove himself".

Personally if given the chance to compete, John Greco might have found their answer to that position within the roster all along. Not drafting an interior lineman during the 2011 NFL draft has only enforced that Greco will be given a chance to compete although the Rams will try to add another veteran via free agency to add some depth.  

The Rams basically need to upgrade the interior as a they where able to draft the Rams bookend tackles in Rodger Saffold and Jason Smith and they will be holding fort for quiet sometime. Center Jason Brown has been the anchor and the de-facto leader of the group since he was signed as a free agents in 2009 as he has shown consistency with his play.

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Rams 2011 Draft Review


If I were to sum up the the first two days of the 2011 NFL Draft, it would be like this: a lot of surprises, and a lot of steals. Yes folks this year NFL draft has a lot of surprises which includes the chance for the Rams to pick the best pass rusher in this years draft class in North Carolina DE Robert Quinn.   

Round 2 of the Rams draft was also a surprise even to the fans as Bill Devaney trade up with the Denver Broncos for the Rams to able to pick Wisconsin TE Lance Kendricks. Some would say this is a Josh McDaniels pick as McD likes to pass catching TE's with a good set of hands and Kendricks is one of the few with the best hands in his position. Sam Bradford will have another toy to play with.

Round 3 was also a surprise to most fans as the Rams drafted Boise State WR Austin Pettis. A big wideout 6' 3" with good route running skills and good hands (which is now becoming the trend of the Rams draft).

In Round 4 Rams got basically a similar wideout in Hawaii WR Greg Salas. The Rams continue to upgrade Sam Bradford's supporting cast with the addition of Salas. He is a highly productive receiver with great hands and outstanding toughness. He should compete for time as a slot receiver in their three- and four-receiver sets

The rest of the picks

Round 5: DB/LB Jermale Hines, Ohio State
Round 7: DB/Returner Mikail Baker, Baylor

Round 7: LB Jabara Williams, Stephen F. Austin
Round 7: FS Jonathan Nelson, Oklahoma

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Countdown to the 2011 NFL Draft: Julio Jones or the D-Linemen

It's obvious that the whole Rams' draft strategy will depend on 14th overall pick. It's a consensus by most draft experts that the Rams that Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones fills the urgent need "if" he's available by the time. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels has a knack on developing quarterbacks and wide receivers so if the Rams where lucky enough to pick Jones, Sam Bradford' will be one happy camper.

If in case Jones is not availble, draft experts has said that the Rams will turn to drafting Defensive Linemen to atleast prepare for the eventual leaving of aging players DT Fred Robbins and DE James Hall. Prospect like defensive end Missouri's Aldon Smith,  California's DE/DT Cameron Jordan and Illionois defensive tackle Corey Liuget are basically the Rams can afford to choose from. It's common knowledge head coach Steve Spagnoulo loves to using multiple defensive ends on passing downs to which disrupts opposing teams as part of defensive packages. Drafting any of the three prospect will surely upgarde their need on their defensive line. Imagine having Chirs Long, Fred Robbins, James Hall, George Selvie plus any of those three prospect rotating every now and then will surely make those opposing offensive coordinator lose their mind.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Grid Iron Mock Draft

Regardless of the lockout, I would like to give my very first mock draft.

Round 1 - Sure pick :  DE Aldon Smith, Missouri; DL Adrian Clayborn, Iowa; DT Corey Lieuget, Illinois;
If in case: WR Julio Jones, Alabama

Round 2 - Guard: Danny Watkins, Baylor or Marcus Cannon, TCU

Round 3 -  Outside Linebacker: Mason Foster, Washington or Bruce Carter, North Carolina;
Wide Receiver: Torrey Smith, Maryland; Leonard Hankerson, Miami.

Round 4 -  Free Safety:  Jaiquawn Jarrett, Temple or Jeron Johnson, Boise State

Round 5 - Runningback: Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State;  DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma;  JacQuizz Rogers, Oregon State.

Round 7 - Anything goes OLB and WR

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Rams 2011 Draft Overview

The NFL draft is forth coming (regardless of there's a new CBA or a lockout) and this year the Rams have the 14th pick to which the team management has a wide range of choices unlike last year that team picks number 1 overall ( to which the Rams did good by pick franchise QB Sam Bradford). This year the key areas that the Rams need are as follows: WR, DT, DEOLB, RB depthOG, Secondary depth.

Wide Receiver: It's evident the Rams need some talent on this area as they need someone that can REALLY stretch the field. Unless the Rams signs a very good veteran wideout, Bill Devaney will draft the next Torry Holt and/or Isaac Bruce. Most draft expert expect the Rams would pick Alabama's Julio Jones IF he's available if not then they might settle for either Miami's Leonard Hankerson or Torrey Smith on the second round.

Defensive Tackle: The Rams needs to upgrade this area as Fred Robbins is not gonna be there for long, and Gary Gibson maybe solid but he's a free agent. This year's draft has a lot of prospects for the position of defensive tackle which includes Corey Liuget and Stephen Paea.

Defensive End: This area is also in need of an upgrade as James Hall is 34 and he too won't be playing long enough. Spagnuolo likes his DE who can play inside and outside and the draft has at least three prospects that can do so: Iowa's Adrian Clayborn, Wisconsin's J.J. Watt and California's Cameron Jordan.

Outside Linebacker: This has been a pressing need as the Rams has been doing a musical chair on the weakside position. Veteran Na'il Diggs was solid but injuries (and age) has caught up. David Vobora and Chris Chamber where able to hold fort but they are not enough. This year's draft only one prospect that I think the Rams should pull some strings to ensure he is pick in the 2nd round is Washington's Mason Foster Foster can play all three linebacker position, has leadership skills and has good coverage and blitz skills.

Runningback: Steven Jackson has been the main man for the Rams yet he has not been given some quality back up. With Josh McDaniels handling the offense, expect some passing plays for the Running backs too and the draft has several prospects for that which includes Oklahoma's DeMarco Murray and Oregon State's Jacquizz Rodgers.

Offensive Guard: Interior lineman depth  is also a key area as the John Greco and Adam Goldberg are now unrestricted free agents. If the Rams are planning for a trade down then they could target Florida's Mike Pouncey. If not they can pick Wisconsin's John Moffit, or Baylor's Danny Watkins.

Secondary: This became a need when O.J. Atogwe decided to sign with the Redskins and also GM Bill Devaney has been "eyeing" some good defensive back prospect like Colorado CB Jimmy Smith, UCLA Safety Rahim Moore and Texas DB Aaron Williams can also be included on this list.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

DT Barry Cofield would make sense with the Rams

If the free agency starts today and GM Bill Devaney should at least sign players that are familiar with Steve Spagnuolo's defense which is why free agent defensive tackle Barry Cofield would be a significant upgrade to the Rams D-line since Cofield is only 26 years old, he knows the system and a solid run-stopper.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Rams has vast options at pick #14

Unlike the last year, the Rams will be picking virtually in the middle of the draft. At picked no. 14, the Rams has vast options on which prospect to pick. The Rams will decide on who would to they pick once the finished scouring the free agency market for more proven/serviceable veterans before drafting the unpolished but potentially talented players.

Assuming there is no free agency coming in, here are the list of prospect that the Rams could possible picked at no.14: Wide Receiver  Julio Jones, Defensive Ends Ryan Kerrigan, Aldon Smith, Adrian Clayborn and Defensive Tackles Corey Liuget and Stephen Paea.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Rams Off-Seasons Starts Anew

The Rams almost got in to the playoffs this year but felt short because of the lack of deep passing game in the offense. It was evident that the Rams needed to upgrade the offense and there were calls for a change on the offensive coordinator position as Pat Shurmur offense is deemed "no longer fit". 

Fortunately, days after the end of the regular season, the Cleveland Browns hired Shurmur to be their new head coach. This saved the Rams management the trouble of "relieving" Shurmur (although there was no real plans to replace Shurmur but a dire need to "turn up volume" of the offense was in order). The Rams then  found his replacement in former Broncos head coach and offensive guru Josh McDaniels

McDaniels hiring had some mix reactions to some of the fans and football experts as McDaniels has been known to be a "pass-happy" coach and is not a "West Coast Offense" guy which is good for Sam Bradford in some ways because this would benefit his skills but this also mean he will learn a brand new scheme. However during his press conference and after talking to both Sam Bradford and Steven Jackson, he has emphasized that both Bradford and Jackson will be the focus of his new "balanced but aggressive offensive scheme" which is remain to be seen until training camp and pre-season.

The next thing on the agenda for the Rams will be the free agency which will start around March 2011. the team needs to address the following positions: Wide Receiver,  a backup running back,  Offensive Lineman (the right guard in particular), the weakside linebacker, depth on the defensive line and in the secondary.