Rams: Ranking Remaining Offseason Priorities

[ReddingRam]

I like barks as a one year backup. Then add more next draft and let someone else pay for mediocrecy.

Our only "needs" IMHO, are o-line experience and a shutdown player in the secondary.

Problem is ... i doubt we get Barks on a "1 yr. back up deal". He is going to want at least 3 yrs and for enough that the cap hit would be high enough we can't cut him.

 

[RamzFanz]

Problem is ... i doubt we get Barks on a "1 yr. back up deal". He is going to want at least 3 yrs and for enough that the cap hit would be high enough we can't cut him.

Will he have a choice?

 

[ReddingRam]

Will he have a choice?

Sure. I believe that signing a guy like Blaylok ...someone older and knowing they won't be starting much longer, would be easier and cheaper than a guy like Barks who is young, looking for his 2nd contract and long term stability.

 

[RamzFanz]

Sure. I believe that signing a guy like Blaylok ...someone older and knowing they won't be starting much longer, would be easier and cheaper than a guy like Barks who is young, looking for his 2nd contract and long term stability.

I don't disagree on Blaylok, but, right now, I don't hear anything that makes me believe Barks is being offered anything better than the Rams who have actually made him a very fair offer.

 

[ReddingRam]

I don't disagree on Blaylok, but, right now, I don't hear anything that makes me believe Barks is being offered anything better than the Rams who have actually made him a very fair offer.

I don't think we "know" anything about what JB has or has not been "offered". either by the rams or any other team. to the contrary ... he could have several offers lined up and waiting to see if anyone will "up their ante" as injuries commence or rosters get trimmed.

 

[Alan]

Wait until the injuries start happening in TC and the Preseason. I think he'll be like a woman at closing time. Looking good.

 

[RamzFanz]

I don't think we "know" anything about what JB has or has not been "offered". either by the rams or any other team. to the contrary ... he could have several offers lined up and waiting to see if anyone will "up their ante" as injuries commence or rosters get trimmed.

Well, this is true that we don't "know". However, it has been reported many times that the offer was between $3-$4,000,000 a season which would be in line with his ranking.

The Titans made an offer that he didn't take and they moved on to Byron Bell. I don't know of any other reported offers.

In all likelihood, IMO, if he doesn't get a desperation offer by TC, he will sign with the Rams at the Rams' price. Time may be on his side with waiting for injuries and seeing rookies in mini-camps and such, but it's his enemy if nothing develops. He will soon be missing OTAs which are a big deal if he's changing teams.

Personally, I think the dude is being misled out of greed. He could be on a team that needs him, where he could do great things and start, where he knows the system and the coaches are cool, where he could be a leader, and he's holding out? There's more to life than money when you are going to be rich either way. Just my opinion. I felt the same way about Pujols.

 

[Dodgersrf]

I don't disagree on Blaylok, but, right now, I don't hear anything that makes me believe Barks is being offered anything better than the Rams who have actually made him a very fair offer.

I think at this point a stop gap like Blalock makes more sense. Assuming, of course, Havenstein starts at RT.

Agree with others that Joe may require a 3 yr deal. 2 at the very least. 1 yr could be a possibility, I just think it's doubtfull.

 

[BonifayRam]

Concerns @ WR? Fisher/Snead have accumulated a excellent talented half dozen WR's. Two 1st rd'ers, a 2nd rd'er, two 3rd rd'ers & a 4th rd'er all under 26 yrs old. For the last two seasons have not seen a consistent QB. They have 13 total signed going into training camp.

#1-Kenny Britt > 26/7 yrs (starter in 2014) former 1st rd pick-wants the ball all day & all the action he can stand!
#2-Brian Quick> 25/4 yrs (starter in 2014) former first pick on 2nd rd.Could easy be placed on PUP if needed. Going into his final season under contract.
#3-Stedman Bailey>24/3 Former 3rd rd pick-highly Underutilized player.
#4-Tavon Austin>24/3 became starter when Quick went IR. #8 overall first rd selection who has averaged only 2 catches a game thus far. Like Bailey is seriously Underutilized needs much more touches.
#5-Chris Givens>25-4 former 4th rd pick/will become a UFA in 2016 big reason to turn it up.
#6-Damian Williams>26/6 former 3rd rd Fisher pick. He has 57 NFL games under his belt & 16 starts.

Fisher has had WR's Emery Blake & Devon Wylie on the roster since last season. Thats looks good enough but even with the above 8 WR's they have FIVE brand new additions in drafted Bud Sasser along with UDFA's Isiah Fergusion, Bradley Marquez, Tyler Slavin & Daniel Rodriquez.

On top of that Snead has returned two very good pass catching TE's in Jared Cook who is way more WR than TE & Lance Kendricks might want to not forget about magic big soft hands Alex Bayer either...that would be a very big mistake.

 

[snackdaddy]

I'd like to have blue chippers at every position. But in this day and age it ain't gonna happen. So they gotta concentrate on the most glaring needs. And that is OL and WR depth. I know A lot of people like Britt, Quick and Bailey. But until they step up and be those kind of receivers we want, I think they have to look at that area as deficient. Maybe better QB play will help.

I agree we need veteran depth on the line. I have a feeling if we go into the season with whats on the roster today, we're gonna regret it. Too much inexperience.

On defense, McCleoud is serviceable. Yeah, he aint Earl Thomas. But he seems to be improving. An upgrade would be nice, but options are limited. We could do worse. Aside from that the defense is set. They just need to be consistent from the start.

 

[Fatbot]

-And yes...bringing in some legit competition at Kicker. I brought this up last year too. Don't get mad Legatron fans
Yeah, GZ's numbers are still good, but God forbid he misses one and we NEED one late in the game. I worry about what i perceive to be his fragile confidence. He's hit some big kicks for us sure, but I'd like to see how he would perform in camp/preseason being pushed with some competition. It would be good for him IMO.

Since I answered this in another thread I will be the mad Legatron fan again here because there's no logic behind the criticisms at this point. You have to judge kickers on their body of work, not just one or two bad games. Yes, he caught a case of the yips in Washington, but it didn't ruin his career or confidence. He finished out the season perfect, 6-for-6.

In his short career GZ is 82% on field goals. That would place him 24th most accurate ALL-TIME. Above Jeff Wilkins. The very best kickers hit 89%. That means the difference between the most accurate kickers that have ever lived and GZ is one miss out of 20 attempts. And based on GZ's 92% of 2013 and his young age, it's more likely GZ gets better, not worse, and moves up this list.

There's also the distance you have to factor in with these accuracy numbers. One quarter of GZ's attempts are beyond 50 yards. This stat would take time to research, but I'm willing to bet that GZ's average attempt distance is #1 in NFL history. Janikowski is at 19% over 50. GZ tried 7 deep kicks last season compared Gostkowski's grand total of one (1) out of his 37 attempts last season.

So GZ is kicking at a high standard for his career on a much more difficult handicap than most other kickers due to this distance factor. As far as the worry about "one kick losing a close game": (1) again the logic is wrong to focus on one game because anything can happen on a sample size of 1; and (2) if we turn the logic on its head there's no other kicker you should want if you are worried about your kicker winning one game.

First, examples of the problems with attaching too much emotion on the "one kick deciding a game" are Scott Norwood's wide right. A year later Norwood was 4-4 in the playoffs and kicked the FG that made the difference in a 10-7 win in the AFC Championship, sending the Bills back to the Super Bowl. The bigger problem for Norwood was his overall body of work, not one infamous kick.

Another one game example is Gary Anderson's missed FG in the 1998 NFC Championship. It was a 38-yard chip shot for Anderson. Talk about confidence -- Anderson had been absolutely perfect the whole season, 100%. And yet when it all mattered, he missed. The moral of course is luck is king in the sample size of 1, no matter who is kicking. It's not a logical basis to use to replace GZ.

Second, your logic should be turned on its head and realize that there's no better kicker in the NFL suited to be *the guy* you want to make that one kick because GZ's leg strength gives the Rams options other teams don't have. What if the drive stalls at the 40-yard line with 3 seconds left? The Rams could send in GZ for the 57-yarder where for his career he's got a 59% chance to win it. Some teams don't have a kicker that can kick it that far so their chance is 0%. The Seahawks could send in Hauschka for his worse 53% chance, but more likely would take their chances on a Fail Mary (100% success).

The only logical complaint about GZ at this point is his kickoffs are too boom or bust. He's #1 in kickoff distance in the NFL yet just over half are touchbacks, that should be higher. And when he miss hits one it leads to a too good of a return. Obviously much of that blame lies on the coverage unit (I'm still angry over the botched outside contain v. KC).

As far as camp competition, I think the Rams always bring in a second camp kicker. I think this year it's Michael Palardy. But GZ doesn't need to be pushed in competition, everything about him screams an intense desire to keep improving, and I think he will have a great year and make these complaints look silly.

 

[BonifayRam]

Nobody uses more big Nickles or big dimes like Gregg Williams does. It would be very hard not to argue that his base is more 4-2-5 than 4-3-4. Plus GW has all these different Nickles not just using 3 CB's but using 3 strong safety types in place of having Lb'ers on the field.

Defensive Captain is 28 yr old JL with 7 NFL campaigns under his belt. Even though many ROD'ers desire his replacement.... I sure want no part of that. in 6 Ram seasons he has 96 starts started every one of them. JL has 743 tackles over that period of time.

For one outside the Rams it would look like the Rams are a concern @ LB'er...once again I sure do not see it. GW added a Fisher high 2nd round draft selection back into the fold this season with 25 yr old OSLB'er Akeem Ayers who was projected to be selected in the middle of the 2011 first round due to his talent. The reason we saw GW go out & drag in UFA LB'er Ayers is he can flat out can cover all tight ends. Ayers looks to be a serious contender for the starting SSLB post.

That move will place 30 yr old Jo-Lunn Dunbar as the top reserve. NOT bad since he has played in 96 NFL games with 63 starts @ all three LB'ing posts.

Starting WSLB'er Alec Ogletree is entering his 3rd season & is only 23 yrs old. Big Big things should be the order of the day from this play-maker. Tree is also versatile too be able to play all the Lb'ing post & was a starter several yrs @ deep safety @ UGA.

Darren Bates who played most of his Auburn college ball as a Strong Safety & now has figured it out that if he wants to play in the NFL he must be a LB'er. This 24 yr old entering his 3rd season Bates can do some special stuff on ST's. Bates also has ran a consistent 4.43 in the 40 too when he was lighter. Bates will be seen in TC & pre season @ all three LB'ing posts he is also versatile.

Rams may have found a jewel in the 7th round in this draft with very smart LB'er Bryce Hager this MLB is going to give the GW a steady back up to JL.

Once should not conclude here with out mentioning an important Ram who played a ton of LB'er late last season not yet mentioned.....Mark Barron. I would think that we will see more of the BIG NICKLE this 2015 season too. Then there is last yrs 4th rd Ram draft selection Maurice Alexander who saw action in 9 games last season but most on ST's Late last season he was over 225 pounds on a little over 6-1 LB'er frame. GW may want to keep the Big Nickle going after Barron departs in 2016 so Alexander may take Barron spot playing the OLB in the Big Nickle.

I really like this LB'ing cadre unit & find it very hard not to be pleased with it.

 

[Rams43]

I'm leaning toward signing a Blalock type vet FA for OG. Just for the experience early on for the OL as a unit.

I think Hav is our likely starter at RT. As in 80-90% likely. Barks is no longer a likely signing, IMO.

But I want to introduce a thought as we contemplate adding a FA at OG. It comes with a price, and I'm not talking about cap dollars here, either.

The price will be that it will force S/F to cut a young and possibly up and coming OL prospect that they would hate to lose. I'm not at all sure that some of these guys would survive a move to the practice squad. They're too good and too highly regarded around the league, I'm afraid.

Players like:

Barnes
Rhaney
Wichmann
Jones

I don't know about you, but it might be too tough for me to have to cut one of these guys just to have a Blalock type OG to start the season until a rookie beats him out. Hopefully by game five.

Tough call.

What do you guys think?

 

[BonifayRam]

If you permit me I'll keep going here......I feel real good about this RB cadre & have no understanding why this would be considered a concern.

Snead & Fisher will not loose any sleep over their stable of fresh young horses. If they PUP'd Gurley until mid season things ill still be just fine here.

#1-Todd Gurley 20 yr old rookie
#2-Tre Mason- 21/1 ...we know this RB very well!
#3-Benny Cunningham-24/2.
#4-Isaiah Pead 25 yr old
#5-Trey Watts UDFA 24/2 yr
#6- Chase Reynolds UDFA 27 yr old very special well loved ST ace. Who can do & will do most anything he is asked. Fisher loves this player.
#7-Malcom Brown UDFA 24 yr old rookie, who is one tough SOB 5-11 225 pound who delivers a blow before he goes down. A serious North-south runner with a willingness to grab his hard hat and do the dirty work. He's at his best as a high-volume runner who can wear down defenses. 3 down back! In the combine he had the best times in two events for RB's.
#8-Terrence Franks UDFA
#9-Zack Laskey UDFA

P.S. if for some reason Steven Jackson was added for one last season then he could be used early & prepping for Gurley's arrival later.

 

[ReddingRam]

Well, this is true that we don't "know". However, it has been reported many times that the offer was between $3-$4,000,000 a season which would be in line with his ranking.

The Titans made an offer that he didn't take and they moved on to Byron Bell. I don't know of any other reported offers.

In all likelihood, IMO, if he doesn't get a desperation offer by TC, he will sign with the Rams at the Rams' price. Time may be on his side with waiting for injuries and seeing rookies in mini-camps and such, but it's his enemy if nothing develops. He will soon be missing OTAs which are a big deal if he's changing teams.

Personally, I think the dude is being misled out of greed. He could be on a team that needs him, where he could do great things and start, where he knows the system and the coaches are cool, where he could be a leader, and he's holding out? There's more to life than money when you are going to be rich either way. Just my opinion. I felt the same way about Pujols.

But ... the Rams pretty much drafted his replacement. .. didn't thye? they spent a 2nd Rd. pick on a RT ONLY and that would make JB a "stand in" even if he "started" early on. the writing is on the wall ......

 

[LACHAMP46]

A couple things.... @Fatbot loves him some GZ!!!! CoachO schooled me about GZ...I guess all some of us remember are his misses...

What do you guys think?

No way we sign another FA lineman...hell, Barksdale is almost like a FA to me, he's been gone so long...

#5-Trey Watts UDFA 24/2 yr
#6- Chase Reynolds UDFA 27 yr old very special well loved ST ace.

I'm cutting these two....Sorry Boni...Trey kinda did some impressive stuff too...Chase is just a numbers game...get a body that is younger and hungrier...I'm not cutting Hager for Chase, unless he can't play...and Hager can run a lil bit...and looks like a solid lil player...I'm getting Mo & Hager in all their spots...Roberson & Bryant too....and I'm trying to keep 10 OL's...Maybe 10 DL's....Now if we cut Pead & Givens....then we'll talk about keeping Chase & Trey...

 

[BonifayRam]

A couple things.... @Fatbot loves him some GZ!!!! CoachO schooled me about GZ...I guess all some of us remember are his misses...

No way we sign another FA lineman...hell, Barksdale is almost like a FA to me, he's been gone so long...
I'm cutting these two....Sorry Boni...Trey kinda did some impressive stuff too...Chase is just a numbers game...get a body that is younger and hungrier...I'm not cutting Hager for Chase, unless he can't play...and Hager can run a lil bit...and looks like a solid lil player...I'm getting Mo & Hager in all their spots...Roberson & Bryant too....and I'm trying to keep 10 OL's...Maybe 10 DL's....Now if we cut Pead & Givens....then we'll talk about keeping Chase & Trey...

I understand what yur saying here.....If I am looking at that DL number I would note that SSLB'er Ayers has some serious pass rush abilities & Fisher & Gregg could be thinking Ayers could be the #10 DL'er. He could back up Quinn post if need be....The DT Westbrooks could be the back up to Chris Long's DE post very easy too. Remember that the Rams top 3 DL'ers reserves #5-#6 & #7 (Hayes- Fairley- Sims) will be a UFA's in 2016..Fisher may be looking into the future here when those hard releases have to be made.

 

[RamzFanz]

But ... the Rams pretty much drafted his replacement. .. didn't thye? they spent a 2nd Rd. pick on a RT ONLY and that would make JB a "stand in" even if he "started" early on. the writing is on the wall ......

It's a conundrum. He has a good 3 year offer with fair money and the chance to stand out but may get pulled if he doesn't. He might be able to hose them on a one year, but then what if he is replaced?

I predicted he would sign before the draft and was wrong. I still think he should have. He's put himself behind the eight ball and is looking for two birds in the bush it seems to me. Rams need him, he needs money and a shot, wtf?