Still Not Happy with the Cheap Groy Offer

[Florida_Ram]

Ryan Groy might have ended up an overrated failed replacement for Tim Barnes but going into the 2017 draft with no starting Center on the roster seems like a very foolish situation for the Rams.

As of today, It seems likely that the Rams will be forced to draft a center with their 2nd or 3 round pick.

Maybe this ends up being a forgotten memory and the Rams end up fortunate drafting a steal at the center position in the 4th or 5th round? Maybe most of you just think the center position is an easy fix and Groy was never a good insurance plan to have on the roster come draft day?

On the surface cutting Barnes and failing to get Groy clearly puts the Rams behind the 8 ball. This might work out for the best when it's all said and done but cutting Barnes and losing Groy because of a worthless contract offer for the Bills to match still makes little sense to me with the draft only being a little more than a month away.

Looking at the players that are left in the free agent market for centers is a bad situation no matter how the positive Rams fans spin it. .

As of today the center position is a guessing game that would've been much better off with Barnes or Groy on the roster heading into day 2 of the draft when the Rams make their fist selection. Most teams would've never expected them to draft a center in the rounds 2 or 3 if Groy was on the roster.

Now this position is exposed and a desperate need unless something changes leading up to day 2 of the draft.

If the Rams stand still as is until the draft, their poker hand is exposed for other teams needing a center willing to trade up in front of them for a highly rated center that is sliding in the draft.

How anyone can truly believe Cody Wichmann, Andrew Donnal or Demetrius Rhaney will end up being the staring Center in 2017 is beyond my comprehension.

Maybe I'm still bitter that they cut Barnes and Groy ended up back with the Bills. No matter the reasons, I put a high premium on the center position going into 2017 and until it's resolved, this is a bad situation for #16.

 

[Loyal]

No worries Bro, i'm here for ya....
~Demetrius R.

 

[jrry32]

Kromer knows him better than anyone. Kromer is one of the NFL's best OL coaches. We offered him what we felt he's worth.

 

[Ram65]

Nice post @Florida_Ram. Barnes had to go. Yes the Rams could have offered more for Groy. The Rams showing some restraint could he a good thing. They may have taken a calculated risk and lost. They have to have another plan. Some older vets are still out there and then they draft a replacement. So far so good outside the Groy match by the Bills.

 

[Florida_Ram]

Kromer knows him better than anyone. Kromer is one of the NFL's best OL coaches. We offered him what we felt he's worth.

That's been discussed and agreed upon by more than a few jrry.. The premise of the frustration is do you think the Rams can stand still as is? Don't they kind of now have to draft a center in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th round?

With what is out there on the market makes it's almost a lock that the Rams are going to have to draft a rookie center and not wait until rounds 5, 6 etc.. Why cut Barnes and offer Groy a burger and milkshake deal when you have nobody else on the roster with proven snaps at center? ughhh

 

[OldSchool]

That's been discussed and agreed upon by more than a few jrry.. The premise of the frustration is do you think the Rams can stand still as is? Don't they kind of now have to draft a center in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th round?

With what is out there on the market makes it almost a lock that the Rams are going to have to draft a rookie center and not wait until rounds 4, 5, 6 etc.. Why cut Barnes and offer Groy a burger and milkshake deal when you have nobody else on the roster with proven snaps at center? ughhh

Why not wait until round 6? The NFL is about an even split with half the teams taking their starting Center in rounds 1-3 and the other half are either the last 4 rounds or even UDFA. In fact there might be as many UDFA starting centers as 1st rounders.

 

[Florida_Ram]

Why not wait until round 6? The NFL is about an even split with half the teams taking their starting Center in rounds 1-3 and the other half are either the last 4 rounds or even UDFA. In fact there might be as many UDFA starting centers as 1st rounders.

I get that OldSchool... My point is the Rams have no starting center with proven snaps on their current roster and their young QB needs the highest pedigree at the position when it comes to starting as a rookie center..

This isn't a situation to say no worries a typical 4th, 5th, 6th or UDFA center that pans on several occasions will be fine.

This is a big hole on the O-LINE as of today with a little more than a month to go before the draft, high upside projects are not in the best interest for a 2nd year QB imo.. just saying.

If they draft a CENTER they need to go for it with one of the top 3 rated rookie centers. If they sign a veteran worth a spit ball you can save my post and bet me they will draft a center with their 2nd or 3rd round pick.. Maybe the 4th round if 2 of the top 3 centers have all fallen when they're on the clock in round 3 etc..

 

[GabesHorn]

Ryan Groy might have ended up an overrated failed replacement for Tim Barnes but going into the 2017 draft with no starting Center on the roster seems like a very foolish situation for the Rams.

As of today, It seems likely that the Rams will be forced to draft a center with their 2nd or 3 round pick.

Maybe this ends up being a forgotten memory and the Rams end up fortunate drafting a steal at the center position in the 4th or 5th round? Maybe most of you just think the center position is an easy fix and Groy was never a good insurance plan to have on the roster come draft day?

On the surface cutting Barnes and failing to get Groy clearly puts the Rams behind the 8 ball. This might work out for the best when it's all said and done but cutting Barnes and losing Groy because of a worthless contract offer for the Bills to match still makes little sense to me with the draft only being a little more than a month away.

Looking at the players that are left in the free agent market for centers is a bad situation no matter how the positive Rams fans spin it. .

As of today the center position is a guessing game that would've been much better off with Barnes or Groy on the roster heading into day 2 of the draft when the Rams make their fist selection. Most teams would've never expected them to draft a center in the rounds 2 or 3 if Groy was on the roster.

Now this position is exposed and a desperate need unless something changes leading up to day 2 of the draft.

If the Rams stand still as is until the draft, their poker hand is exposed for other teams needing a center willing to trade up in front of them for a highly rated center that is sliding in the draft.

How anyone can truly believe Cody Wichmann, Andrew Donnal or Demetrius Rhaney will end up being the staring Center in 2017 is beyond my comprehension.

Maybe I'm still bitter that they cut Barnes and Groy ended up back with the Bills. No matter the reasons, I put a high premium on the center position going into 2017 and until it's resolved, this is a bad situation for #16.

I'm sorry but you seem kinda dramatic and so sure you know all about the true physical talents and abilities of the MEN we already have on our roster. Just because it's beyond your belief that 3 players who started for almost 3-4 years a piece without injury and never missed starting games for Louisville,Iowa and San Diego State. Not Undrafted Free agents like Groy who Kromer transformed into a decent but not great starter. With only 7 starts in his NFL history ? He was gonna be a backup for us anyway. How do you know we did'nt offer Groy Backup money and not the starter money you just assume it was for? I give McVay a little more credit than that for a future STARTING center.

You act like all 31 other teams have read McVays mail and know all our buisiness now. Maybe you are just still bitter and we lost a backup for no big deal. Now we might have to spend a draft pick and train a future backup center. As we all know OL do get hurt. Even centers. I'll take Donnal,Barnes and Wichman any day over Groy. Patience is a virtue. Maybe some warm milk. I assure you all is not lost.

We are keeping our cards close to our vest I assure you. Even though McVay is young but it's not his first rodeo, as Snead was pulling the strings with all the info needed from the coaches. Kromer most importantly. So many things don't work out till teams are on the clock and Snead is a very shrewd card player. We will get what we need and I assure you in return we will get all we need to remake our OL to start the season. Then we will see where the injury bug takes us. It's not time to take poison bro. Wait till after the draft before you panic. All is well. Shalom . :grouphug:

 

[Florida_Ram]

I'm sorry but you seem kinda dramatic and so sure you know all about the true physical talents and abilities of the MEN we already have on our roster. Wait till after the draft before you panic. All is well. Shalom . :grouphug:

Nah... Been a fan too long to panic but I have my concerns with a position I value with all the criteria involved. I will respect your post.

I'm done with this tread... Still a bit bitter that the Rams don't have a true veteran center on the roster younger than 30 years old and without an injury history but it is what it is.

I'm done talking about this subject.. May the Rams fill their void at the center position for the next 8-10 years via the 2017 draft :grouphug:

 

[jrry32]

That's been discussed and agreed upon by more than a few jrry.. The premise of the frustration is do you think the Rams can stand still as is? Don't they kind of now have to draft a center in the 2nd, 3rd or 4th round?

With what is out there on the market makes it's almost a lock that the Rams are going to have to draft a rookie center and not wait until rounds 5, 6 etc.. Why cut Barnes and offer Groy a burger and milkshake deal when you have nobody else on the roster with proven snaps at center? ughhh

Ryan Groy before landing with the Bills:
2014 - Bears sign him as a UDFA, move him to the practice squad, promote him in November, and he makes three starts late in the year.
2015 - Bears trade him to the Patriots, Patriots cut him, Buccaneers sign him to their practice squad, the Bills sign him to their active roster in November, and he is active for a few games with no starts.
2016 - He stays with the Bills, is active for the entire year, starts seven games when Eric Wood goes down with an injury, and plays well.

I want you to look at his history. In three short years, he played for four different teams, he spent most of two of the three years on practice squads, and he only started under Kromer.

That says a lot to me. What it tells me is that Kromer is very good at what he does. So no, I'm not concerned. For example, we have a 6'5" 320 pound interior OL who has started 18 games over the past two years who worked snapping the ball last year in case we needed him at Center. Maybe Kromer can work the same magic with Cody Wichmann that he worked with Ryan Groy. Maybe he can work that magic with Andrew Donnal. Maybe he tells us to sign a FA C. Maybe he has a guy in mind in the draft.

I'm not sweating it. This isn't Jeff Fisher's team anymore. We have an offensive staff who know what they're doing. We have one of the best OL coaches in the NFL. I'm going to trust that he knows what he's doing.

Why cut Barnes? Because he clearly didn't see Barnes as the answer. Why keep Barnes if you don't think he's good enough to play Center in your scheme? Barnes doesn't have the size and power that Kromers looks for in his OLs. I doubt we'll see him back. Barnes's best attribute isn't important in this scheme since Goff calls the protections.

I trust Kromer to know what he needs and find it. Maybe we go Center early. Maybe we don't. Personally, I'd love for us to find a way to grab Forrest Lamp, but maybe Kromer thinks he can get Jon Toth or Chase Roullier or etc. to play well in the 4th/5th round. Maybe Kromer thinks he can get one of our current OLs to play well at Center. I trust that the man will get the job done. He always has.

 

[Gandalf]

He accepted the deal, so it's possible he wasn't getting any better offers. I imagine his agent put out feelers to other teams to determine his value.

 

[Rambo]

The Bills have a QB that can really scramble and I wonder how much that had to do with the 0 sacks.

 

[Riverumbbq]

He accepted the deal, so it's possible he wasn't getting any better offers. I imagine his agent put out feelers to other teams to determine his value.

There is a lot we'll never know, and a little we may discover in a year or so. Buffalo's starting Center Eric Wood restructured his contract last year which also makes what was to be his last contracted season for 2018 voidable. He now becomes a UFA following the 2017 season, and a good Center, even at 31, so long as he is healthy, can still sign a nice fat new contract. Whether Buffalo has intentions to try and re-sign Wood next season remains unclear, but matching Groy's RFA signing sheet makes plenty of sense if they believe they may be left with a hole in the line-up next year. Makes one think they believe enough in Groy at this time, with his 7 solid starts filling in for an injured Wood last season, that he is good enough insurance for 2017, and potentially becoming their starter for 2018. If you read the Buffalo fan forum, you will notice several savvy fans were happy with the Rams signing Groy to that offer sheet, and they appeared aware that the Bills would definitely match. Several were saying that we did Buffalo's GM a favor by effectively setting Groy's value for them. If Groy is worth his salt, the Bills will have bargained for a big CAP savings off a Wood departure for the 2018 season. Groy who was scheduled to become a UFA in 2018 could actually become their starter instead and go on to command a better salary in 2019 when he now becomes a UFA. As for Kromer and the Rams, they did Groy a great service by enhancing his salary. I suspect McSnead had an idea the Bills would match, and if our $5.mil for a two year deal had somehow magically happened, McVay, Snead, Kromer & Demoff would all look like geniuses. It's difficult to say where Buffalo would have drawn the line, how much of an offer would have been too much, but both they and Groy came out of this successfully, ... unless Groy should happen to fall flat, but that's another conversation for a later date. jmo.

 

[OldSchool]

I get that OldSchool... My point is the Rams have no starting center with proven snaps on their current roster and their young QB needs the highest pedigree at the position when it comes to starting as a rookie center..

This isn't a situation to say no worries a typical 4th, 5th, 6th or UDFA center that pans on several occasions will be fine.

This is a big hole on the O-LINE as of today with a little more than a month to go before the draft, high upside projects are not in the best interest for a 2nd year QB imo.. just saying.

If they draft a CENTER they need to go for it with one of the top 3 rated rookie centers. If they sign a veteran worth a spit ball you can save my post and bet me they will draft a center with their 2nd or 3rd round pick.. Maybe the 4th round if 2 of the top 3 centers have all fallen when they're on the clock in round 3 etc..

That's your opinion and you're entitled to it. There are still veteran stop gaps, which is all Groy was, that are available and there are draft picks beyond the top 3 rounds who can step in and start day one. Hell until myself and a few others started talking about Groy nobody knew who he was. If not for that people would have the opposite reaction screaming about us offering a 2 year $5 million contract for a no name backup that's only started a handful of games. There's nothing to be mad or upset about. They didn't get their first choice as a stop gap. We'll be fine.

 

[Riverumbbq]

I happen to believe Groy's ceiling today is higher than Barnes' was two years ago. I thought Barnes would be our stop gap following Wells, never thought Fisher would push him into the starting role. Groy is 26 now, the same age when Barnes took over the starting position here. IMO, Barnes is a permanent back-up, not that that's a bad thing, he was just asked to do something which was above his pay grade.

Speaking of Barnes, what has become of woofwoofmo, has he been heard from since the Barnes departure ?
Could he have been ... ?

 

[Riverumbbq]

Just as a point of reference, nothing to get excited about here folks, PFF gave Groy a 76.0 score as a pass blocker, 72.5 in run blocking. Mangold received a 80.5 as a pass blocker, 64.2 in run blocking. Barnes, 70.0 pass, 61.3 run.
Eric Wood, the Buffalo veteran starter ; 61.2 pass blocking, 67.5 run blocking, might partially explain why some Bills fans prefer Groy over Wood.