Which position group still concerns you the most?

[ChrisW]

WR

Teams looking to make a trade for Josh Gordon. Go get him. Let Jeffy work his magic on the oft beleaguered WR and get a legit #1. Let Spruce be the bottom of the depth chart.

LB will be fine when Barron comes back.

I'd let Bryant start with the ones at deep safety. It's natural to him, and his game is extremely similar to Mccleod's.

 

[DaveFan'51]

It's the LB group for me, I think. I'm not convinced about Ogletree at MLB just yet. Barron just missed the Chief game for reasons unknown. And none of the reserves has exactly flashed. At least not yet.

CB has Gaines looking better. And a pretty deep bench in Roberson, Hill, Jordan, and Washington, among others.

Deep S has one of Alexander, Bryant, or Davis. Plus a Whitner is always a FA option, if deemed necessary.

As to WR? I'm comfortable with Britt, Austin, Cooper, Spruce, and any 2 of the remaining 8 candidates. Besides, they may choose to go with only 5. And I look for the TE's to get a ton of the targets this year, anyway. I mean, a ton. Quite a few for Gurley, as well.

So yeah, I think LB gives me the most uncertainty. Maybe somebody there steps up in these last 2 games? Sure hope so. We've gotta be able to consistently stop the run. And that Chief 13 minute top advantage has gotta come to a screeching halt.

Did I miss your most troubling area of concern? If so, let's hear about it.

As I opened this thread I was thinking LB's! And you nailed that! I'm in agreement with you on everything else too!!

 

[dieterbrock]

It's QB for me.

That position will have more to do with our win / loss record than all of the others.

This
QB all day
D cant shut everybody out and teams will key on Gurley
If the QB isn't a threat, the rest wont matter

 

[Dieter the Brock]

QB

 

[RedRam]

Receivers.

Can they get open?

Can they catch the ball when the QB throws it to them?

That has to happen to keep defenses honest and from just stacking the box waiting for Gurley.

 

[RaminExile]

It's the LB group for me, I think. I'm not convinced about Ogletree at MLB just yet. Barron just missed the Chief game for reasons unknown. And none of the reserves has exactly flashed. At least not yet.

CB has Gaines looking better. And a pretty deep bench in Roberson, Hill, Jordan, and Washington, among others.

Deep S has one of Alexander, Bryant, or Davis. Plus a Whitner is always a FA option, if deemed necessary.

As to WR? I'm comfortable with Britt, Austin, Cooper, Spruce, and any 2 of the remaining 8 candidates. Besides, they may choose to go with only 5. And I look for the TE's to get a ton of the targets this year, anyway. I mean, a ton. Quite a few for Gurley, as well.

So yeah, I think LB gives me the most uncertainty. Maybe somebody there steps up in these last 2 games? Sure hope so. We've gotta be able to consistently stop the run. And that Chief 13 minute top advantage has gotta come to a screeching halt.

Did I miss your most troubling area of concern? If so, let's hear about it.

Agree with linebacker corps. WR is obviously an issue - I like some of the talent and depth - Spruce looks like a football player, Cooper likewise, Duke Williams intrigues - but we need more.

Secondary - I think they might be light a guy. If someone struggles or gets hurt - I always thought Sensabaugh was a slot guy and so is Joyner so we've got 3 guys who can play ( to a good standard) outside against their x and y guys? Roberson, Gaines coming off IR and Tru?

 

[hotanez]

WR

Teams looking to make a trade for Josh Gordon. Go get him. Let Jeffy work his magic on the oft beleaguered WR and get a legit #1. Let Spruce be the bottom of the depth chart.

LB will be fine when Barron comes back.

I'd let Bryant start with the ones at deep safety. It's natural to him, and his game is extremely similar to Mccleod's.

Brown's said they aren't trading him

 

[raised_fisT]

WR's. Quick needs to be cut already. Britt is another Jared Cook/ ex-Titan clinging on to his spot for dear life. Hasn't really done shit in the league and still starting? What?! Tavon needs to be more than just a gimmick/gadget player. I rather see Cooper/ Spruce get touches if these vets can't make an impact in the first few games.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Secondary
WR
LB

There are just too many unknowns in the secondary, but it feels like we have some good players assuming it comes together.

WR makes my list because "until proven otherwise" it's impossible to assume we are okay.

LB lacks depth, but I like the pieces.

 

[TexasRam]

Secondary.

It's gonna get roasted.

You are only as good as your nickel corner. Joyner shows bad technique and instincts. He will continue to get roasted and give up huge third downs all season just like he always has in the preseason and last season.

Then there is the problem of the safety's. neither McDonald or Alexander is a cover guy.

It's a recipe for disaster folks.

Imagine if Tru or Gaines get hurt. Both are injury prone and there is no where near the replacement for those two.

Troy Hill has looked good. I would give him more playing time to see if he can continue to impress.

I am worried about Ogletree inside and think it's a bad move but others can help out in run support and you can scheme somethings to stop a run.

The Wr's have potential with Spruce Higbee and Cooper.

But that secondary.... It's scary man.

 

[FrantikRam]

Secondary has to be a concern - the "best" 3 of 4 projected starters have combined to miss more games than they've played in the past two years. Even if they were all healthy I would be a bit skeptical...I like TruJo but preferred Jenkins; I hope I'm wrong.

At LB we're going really small...considering our run defense was horrible at times last year, this is a concern for me. JL specialized in making a tackle 8 yards down field - and he definitely needed to go - but it leaves me wondering if instead of being tackled at all, RBs will just gash us mercilessly.

WR though is still the weakest group by far; every position on defense at least has a guy that put up a decent NFL season - at WR we're not so lucky. Britt would be a good number 2 WR. Tavon can't even really be counted as a WR. I'd honestly cut Quick and go with a slew of rookies.


Having said all that, Gaines and TruJo could stay healthy and play well - Tree could be an upgrade over JL. A WR could emerge.

The "position" I'm most afraid of is the coaching staff. Do we continue to play not to lose? Does our defense underachieve again despite a wealth of talent? Does our offense finish bottom 10 for the thousandth year in a row? They have the players - they've had this team for 4 going on 5 years now. It's time to put up.

 

[LACHAMP46]

It's QB for me.

That position will have more to do with our win / loss record than all of the others.

This
QB all day
D cant shut everybody out and teams will key on Gurley
If the QB isn't a threat, the rest wont matter

QB

Can't believe all of these guys that have watched this team for the last 10 years didn't say this...
While I'm not sure if Joyner or Sensabaugh are even fit to get on the field...Perhaps we are playing vanilla...But they make vanilla taste bad...But still, not crucial..I see Hill as an adequate player...could be a star...And still think Roberson is a player....I like EJ, Tru, and Troy Hill with the pressure we produce...
But QB...Keenum...Starting...:giveup:uke::death::baghead::shocking::shocked:

 

[StealYoGurley]

You are only as good as your nickel corner. Joyner shows bad technique and instincts. He will continue to get roasted and give up huge third downs all season just like he always has in the preseason and last season.

I have never heard that saying before and I couldn't disagree more. Your nickel corner gets the most help from safeties and LBs. I would be more concerned about the guys outside on an island being terrible. If Gaines and Tru J healthy I think we will be solid in that regard once we start gameplanning. Depth behind the starters isn't great, but no one in the league is really deep behind there starters. Its not like the Hawks or Cardinals are bringing stars off the bench in case of a Peterson or Sherman injury. Having Sensabaugh and Roberson who have played decently in this league is some of the best depth you could ask for in the NFL today behind the main guys.

WR though is still the weakest group by far; every position on defense at least has a guy that put up a decent NFL season - at WR we're not so lucky. Britt would be a good number 2 WR. Tavon can't even really be counted as a WR. I'd honestly cut Quick and go with a slew of rookies.

Spot on. IMO WR is clearly the most concerning position. Both Tavon and Britt have not shown they are anything more than one trick ponies at this point. Britt on play action deep balls and Tavon on screens and reverses. Truly scary to have guys that limited as your top receivers, and you cant count on young slot guys like Pharoh and Spruce to carry the offense. Best case scenario Tavon develops into a more versatile weapon complimented by Britt's deep game. That would be great, but we haven't seen it yet, and I am not confident we will.

 

[Juice]

QB - We know what kind of player Keenum is, and he did look good last week. Is Jared Goff worth what we gave up to get him. Can Mannion win a starting job, and if he does, who can make the playoffs with Mannion at QB.

Secondary - Although our front four will take off some of the pressure, if we give any opposing QB time we are going to get burned. I made the mistake and minimized the departure of Jenkins and McLeod from the roster. I think with all the draft picks we were going to give up to draft Goff, we should have kept one of these guys.

LB - Is Ogletree ready to be a starting MLB? Is he ready to understand what Williams wants to do with the defense enough to make sure everyone is where there should be and it not affect his play? I hope some of the young guys we have as backups will develop.

 

[Rams43]

I have never heard that saying before and I couldn't disagree more. Your nickel corner gets the most help from safeties and LBs. I would be more concerned about the guys outside on an island being terrible. If Gaines and Tru J healthy I think we will be solid in that regard once we start gameplanning. Depth behind the starters isn't great, but no one in the league is really deep behind there starters. Its not like the Hawks or Cardinals are bringing stars off the bench in case of a Peterson or Sherman injury. Having Sensabaugh and Roberson who have played decently in this league is some of the best depth you could ask for in the NFL today behind the main guys.



Spot on. IMO WR is clearly the most concerning position. Both Tavon and Britt have not shown they are anything more than one trick ponies at this point. Britt on play action deep balls and Tavon on screens and reverses. Truly scary to have guys that limited as your top receivers, and you cant count on young slot guys like Pharoh and Spruce to carry the offense. Best case scenario Tavon develops into a more versatile weapon complimented by Britt's deep game. That would be great, but we haven't seen it yet, and I am not confident we will.

I have a different take on WR positional weakness, SYG.

We have the following as probable WR's:

Britt
Austin (Mr 100 catches, according to Fisher) lol.
Cooper
Spruce

Now it gets a little tricky. Two of...

Williams
McRoberts
Marquez

Throw in the factor of how many WR's will even be active on game day? Maybe 5 at most?

And camp reports are tantalizing us with scenarios of Hemingway as a possible semi WR currently getting lots of practice snaps.

Don't know about you, but that doesn't sound like our weakest position group to me.

Secondary?

Tru
Gaines
Joyner
TJM
Alexander

There are your starters. Good depth behind them, IMO. And all will look vastly better once GW finally starts with his scheming and packages.

So yeah, LB is my biggest concern. At least for now.

 

[FrantikRam]

I have a different take on WR positional weakness, SYG.

We have the following as probable WR's:

Britt
Austin (Mr 100 catches, according to Fisher) lol.
Cooper
Spruce

Now it gets a little tricky. Two of...

Williams
McRoberts
Marquez

Throw in the factor of how many WR's will even be active on game day? Maybe 5 at most?

And camp reports are tantalizing us with scenarios of Hemingway as a possible semi WR currently getting lots of practice snaps.

Don't know about you, but that doesn't sound like our weakest position group to me.

Secondary?

Tru
Gaines
Joyner
TJM
Alexander

There are your starters. Good depth behind them, IMO. And all will look vastly better once GW finally starts with his scheming and packages.

So yeah, LB is my biggest concern. At least for now.

Depends what you mean by weakest. If we go on depth alone, defense is actually scarier than offense because we're relying on the following staying completely healthy:

Gaines
TruJo
McDonald
Tree
Quinn

That's 5 starters that have recently missed a ton of time. But they are all better than what we have at WR. So I would disagree with your assessment of weakest group. Skill wise I think it's WR going away....and you left off Quick, who will probably somehow make the team to bring the group down even more.

 

[StealYoGurley]

I have a different take on WR positional weakness, SYG.

We have the following as probable WR's:

Britt
Austin (Mr 100 catches, according to Fisher) lol.
Cooper
Spruce

Now it gets a little tricky. Two of...

Williams
McRoberts
Marquez

Throw in the factor of how many WR's will even be active on game day? Maybe 5 at most?

And camp reports are tantalizing us with scenarios of Hemingway as a possible semi WR currently getting lots of practice snaps.

Don't know about you, but that doesn't sound like our weakest position group to me.

Secondary?

Tru
Gaines
Joyner
TJM
Alexander

There are your starters. Good depth behind them, IMO. And all will look vastly better once GW finally starts with his scheming and packages.

So yeah, LB is my biggest concern. At least for now.

IMO there are major differences between WR and the secondary. Outside of Mo we have seen consistent above average play out the main starters in the secondary at some point (not counting Joyner as a starter even though he was decent last year). One group has actually produced at a high level while the other is unproven or has never produced even average numbers.

Tru was one of the best corners in the league last year (2nd lowest passer rating when thrown too) and When EJ was healthy he was one of the better number 2 CBs. TJ is a very solid strong Safety and will be making at least $6mill next year. Mo is a wild card, but he is extremely athletic and for what we ask our FS to do ( dont get beat deep and be solid in run support). I am confident Joyner will get the job done if you play him exclusively in the nickel.

WRs on the other hand haven't proven anything. They are either unproven rookies or guys who have never been even average receivers compared to guys who we have seen play at a high level in the secondary. Britt has never been an above average receiver for a whole season and Tavon hasn't produced offensively outside of screens and reverses yet. When you consider how often we will play with 2 TEs, you need alot more out your top 2 WRS, especially when you consider the inexperience behind them. The young WRs are late picks that haven't faced real top NFL competition just yet, but history doesn't paint a rosy picture about rookie WRs especially later picks and UDFAs.

I am not as concerned at LB with Barron and Tree as the the three down guys you need to be fast in today's NFL and they certainly are fast LBs. Since we will play nickel most of the time Ayers is essentially a backup, who can step into a bigger role than expected like last year when Tree went down. People weren't concerned about LB until some lackluster preseason performances with no game plan (Vanilla Greg Williams nothing like the regular season), but the last time we saw Tree and Barron in real game action they were both dynamite. Barron was near the top of the league in TFLs and Tree was a tackling machine. Yes Tree is playing a new position, and there will be some adjustments, but I am glad we are seeing some of those adjustments now in the preseason. Lets not forget most of Tree's college career he played MLB in a 3-4, where he had more take on responsibilities than he does in a 4-3. That was a long time ago, but he is certainly, bigger stronger, and more experienced so I think he will be able to make the transition.

 

[Killgasm]

There's no way we can start 3-0 with this secondary.

 

[Rams43]

IMO there are major differences between WR and the secondary. Outside of Mo we have seen consistent above average play out the main starters in the secondary at some point (not counting Joyner as a starter even though he was decent last year). One group has actually produced at a high level while the other is unproven or has never produced even average numbers.

Tru was one of the best corners in the league last year (2nd lowest passer rating when thrown too) and When EJ was healthy he was one of the better number 2 CBs. TJ is a very solid strong Safety and will be making at least $6mill next year. Mo is a wild card, but he is extremely athletic and for what we ask our FS to do ( dont get beat deep and be solid in run support). I am confident Joyner will get the job done if you play him exclusively in the nickel.

WRs on the other hand haven't proven anything. They are either unproven rookies or guys who have never been even average receivers compared to guys who we have seen play at a high level in the secondary. Britt has never been an above average receiver for a whole season and Tavon hasn't produced offensively outside of screens and reverses yet. When you consider how often we will play with 2 TEs, you need alot more out your top 2 WRS, especially when you consider the inexperience behind them. The young WRs are late picks that haven't faced real top NFL competition just yet, but history doesn't paint a rosy picture about rookie WRs especially later picks and UDFAs.

I am not as concerned at LB with Barron and Tree as the the three down guys you need to be fast in today's NFL and they certainly are fast LBs. Since we will play nickel most of the time Ayers is essentially a backup, who can step into a bigger role than expected like last year when Tree went down. People weren't concerned about LB until some lackluster preseason performances with no game plan (Vanilla Greg Williams nothing like the regular season), but the last time we saw Tree and Barron in real game action they were both dynamite. Barron was near the top of the league in TFLs and Tree was a tackling machine. Yes Tree is playing a new position, and there will be some adjustments, but I am glad we are seeing some of those adjustments now in the preseason. Lets not forget most of Tree's college career he played MLB in a 3-4, where he had more take on responsibilities than he does in a 4-3. That was a long time ago, but he is certainly, bigger stronger, and more experienced so I think he will be able to make the transition.

We are in agreement that WR is a bigger concern than the secondary, SYG.

Let's just agree to disagree about LB vs WR for now. Time will tell, anyway.

 

[Bruce2980]

I have never heard that saying before and I couldn't disagree more. Your nickel corner gets the most help from safeties and LBs. I would be more concerned about the guys outside on an island being terrible. If Gaines and Tru J healthy I think we will be solid in that regard once we start gameplanning. Depth behind the starters isn't great, but no one in the league is really deep behind there starters. Its not like the Hawks or Cardinals are bringing stars off the bench in case of a Peterson or Sherman injury. Having Sensabaugh and Roberson who have played decently in this league is some of the best depth you could ask for in the NFL today behind the main guys.



Spot on. IMO WR is clearly the most concerning position. Both Tavon and Britt have not shown they are anything more than one trick ponies at this point. Britt on play action deep balls and Tavon on screens and reverses. Truly scary to have guys that limited as your top receivers, and you cant count on young slot guys like Pharoh and Spruce to carry the offense. Best case scenario Tavon develops into a more versatile weapon complimented by Britt's deep game. That would be great, but we haven't seen it yet, and I am not confident we will.

Well said, I couldn't agree more. In regards to the WRs, I'd like to see 5 on the roster and go heavy with TEs, and then spread em, three or four out, and run, run, run, Gurley.