What do we need to do to get to the next level?

[Merlin]

I would first analyze how Atlanta whipped our rear ends.

They ran it up our wazoo in the second half and we had nothing in our arsenal that could stop them.

Yep. Rams came up short in the playoffs, and the how's and why's of all that are critical in terms of moving forward.

1. Fix the MFing run defense.
2. Get more physical on offense.
3. No big steps backwards at key position groups (WR & CB in particular there).

Falcons punched our #1 ranked offense in the mouth and exposed that we aren't very good at mashing the ball when we need to. Little more balance on offense to allow for that will help the Rams in the playoffs, so improve the play up front and see if they can boost the 12 personnel quality.

But this team's really close. And a lot of it is going to come down to how much Jared improves through this camp in terms of his anticipation of defenses and what he's going to see per each opponent. IMO he will make big strides again, key is ensuring the pieces are there for him to grow.

 

[bubbaramfan]

"What do we need to do to get to the next level?"

Win a couple playoff games.:yay:

 

[Psycho_X]

-Find a creative way to sign D. Poe....NT position solid if that happens.

That would be a dream come true but not sure how we could afford that. And how do you pay a NT the ton of money he's going to command and still not have your best player signed to the long term contract he's been demanding? Hopefully AD gets signed very soon though. It would be amazing to see Donald, Brockers, and Poe on the same line though.

 

[So Ram]

Yep. Rams came up short in the playoffs, and the how's and why's of all that are critical in terms of moving forward.

1. Fix the MFing run defense.
2. Get more physical on offense.
3. No big steps backwards at key position groups (WR & CB in particular there).

Falcons punched our #1 ranked offense in the mouth and exposed that we aren't very good at mashing the ball when we need to. Little more balance on offense to allow for that will help the Rams in the playoffs, so improve the play up front and see if they can boost the 12 personnel quality.

But this team's really close. And a lot of it is going to come down to how much Jared improves through this camp in terms of his anticipation of defenses and what he's going to see per each opponent. IMO he will make big strides again, key is ensuring the pieces are there for him to grow.

M. Wilkerson was just released by the Jets.

dT Star from Carolina might be released as well

 

[JRobinson]

Well ... McVay himself did say, in his Final Presser, at the end of the Season, that he thought the TE area needed some work! What ever that means, we just have to wait and see!

To this I’ll say that McVay never shows any cards; nor should he or any other HC. Anyone can look at our TE position and see that they underperformed and underachieved. Hence, why the media asked him about the position in the first place.

I do think we need to improve the depth on both Offensive and Defensive Lines! And I wouldn't mind if we picked up Talib to go with MP!!

While I completely agree that the OL and DL depth needs attention, I’m personally not on board with Talib. I’d rather draft another Corner with a rookie contract and use resources for the depth you speak of.

There is one "Thumper" of an ILB I have an eye on going into the Combine, Micah Kiser - Virginia - 6 ft 2 / 240 looks like a good 4th rounder!

I’ll keep my eye on him during the Combine and pull up some YouTube tape.

 

[nighttrain]

Talib=next season and SB hopes
train

 

[Merlin]

That would be a dream come true but not sure how we could afford that. And how do you pay a NT the ton of money he's going to command and still not have your best player signed to the long term contract he's been demanding? Hopefully AD gets signed very soon though. It would be amazing to see Donald, Brockers, and Poe on the same line though.

No doubt. Three DL positions as per projections...

3T: Donald $20M+
5T: Brockers $10.75M
NT: Poe?

Looks to me like using the strength of the draft (DL one of them) is the way forward. Would they pay Poe what it would take to get him in here with all that money going to AD & Brock?

 

[Ram65]

If the Rams only had three first round picks even 23 thru 25. They could get a CB, NT and Edge OLBer.


First the Rams have to not lose any ground. Not an easy task when you have all those free agents to resign. They have to be smart with their money.

Resign Joyner long term if they can.
Resign Sullivan cause he won't cost much and gives time to find replacement.
Find an answer to replace Watkins because he will cost too much money.
Need either a NT or solid CB before the draft.
Need a ILB if they decide to let Barron go also before the draft.
Lower cost free agent edge rusher to rotate in.
Let Barwin go.
Keep improving depth on both lines.
Running back that can catch and be on the field with TG.

 

[Riverumbbq]

No doubt. Three DL positions as per projections...

3T: Donald $20M+
5T: Brockers $10.75M
NT: Poe?

Looks to me like using the strength of the draft (DL one of them) is the way forward. Would they pay Poe what it would take to get him in here with all that money going to AD & Brock?

While those 3 are the equivalent of creating a supergroup, i'm not sure the Rams will value the NT position as highly as some here with Donald & Brockers already on staff. Consider that Donald is about to receive the richest contract of any non QB ever, and Brockers will either be extended following the 2019 season or be allowed to hit free agency at the relatively young age of 29. There are plenty of good options in free agency for a run defending NT that are far better than Tyrunn Walker that will come in at a far lower rate of pay than someone like Dontari Poe. Seems to make more sense to draft a NT who will be hitting his 5'th year option around the time Donald & Brockers are seeking their final contract than try to make a Poe contract work now, either that or look to a much more reasonably priced free agent interior lineman to bridge the gap. Just adding a better than average run blocking NT and ILB will make a world of difference in comparison to last season, even if it isn't the sexiest of off-season moves. jmo.

 

[DR RAM]

Bounced in round 1 was kinda disappointing, but not as painful as watching us never get there for 12 straight years. But now that we've achieved that first step of getting *into* the playoffs, what's it gonna take to advance? Seems like everything's there. Good QB, good RB, decent receivers, dominant front 4, decent linebackers, (now) a good secondary, dominant special teams.

Is it just a matter of McVay getting seasoned?
Do we need a world-beater TE?
Better linebackers?
Cheat?

For me, I think we need a world-beater at tight-end. I don't even care if he can block. I just want someone like Gronkowski that provides a constantly reliable outlet and who's a threat at all times. As near impossible as it is to get someone like Gronk, I think we at least have to either (a) upgrade, or (b) design a scheme that gets them way more heavily involved.

or cheat.

Personally, I think a lot of little things, most of which you mentioned, but the experience, and the fire that should be generated, from being bounced, should fuel us. We have to be smart, in our drafting, and FA, but the biggest transition, was the defensive one, and you can't just go from a 4-3, to a 3-4, it takes a lot of very versatile linebackers. We had a lot of youth at the rush Lb's, and inexperience at new positions, even with our vets at that position. It IS way different for a guy like Robert Quinn, for instance.

Funny thing is that unheralded Longacre was a good fit, and we missed him greatly. When Brockers went out, we got killed, so we have to do a better job at depth at those positions. Hard to do in one off-season. I think we will be OK at TE, I really do.

We need more depth on the OL, and I think we were lucky there, as far as being healthy.

Goff, and the WR's should take another step, but to have a good run, all these things need to gel, and slightly improve. I think we could beat anybody on any given week, which for me, includes the playoffs, but several little things went wrong, including play calling. For me, the biggest takeaway, is that we couldn't stop the run, and in that particular game, that killed us. We stop the run, we win that game, IMO. I give the Fulckers a lot of credit, they figured something out, and they hammered us with it.

There are a lot of ascending new teams in the NFL, especially in the NFC. We have to tighten our shit up.

Just as an add it, I really like Littleton, the dude just makes big plays, all the time, so I hope he has worked hard after last season.

 

[Dieter the Brock]

Have you guys seen that movie War Games?
The best move is not to play
But if i'm the Ram's WOPR i would say The Left Tackle and Center positions are key to our future Super Bowl ambitions

This team is gonna suck next year unless we address those two vital positions

we all know we were blessed with Whitworth and Sullivan (oh i'm injured, wait no i'm not) got though 2017 reasonably unscathed - but to double down is asking a lot. We need replacements in place for 2018 to keep the machine rolling - i hope Kromer can identify those players for us

 

[shaunpinney]

Bounced in round 1 was kinda disappointing, but not as painful as watching us never get there for 12 straight years. But now that we've achieved that first step of getting *into* the playoffs, what's it gonna take to advance? Seems like everything's there. Good QB, good RB, decent receivers, dominant front 4, decent linebackers, (now) a good secondary, dominant special teams.

Is it just a matter of McVay getting seasoned?
Do we need a world-beater TE?
Better linebackers?
Cheat?

For me, I think we need a world-beater at tight-end. I don't even care if he can block. I just want someone like Gronkowski that provides a constantly reliable outlet and who's a threat at all times. As near impossible as it is to get someone like Gronk, I think we at least have to either (a) upgrade, or (b) design a scheme that gets them way more heavily involved.

or cheat.

Nice OP @-X-

It was disappointing to get bounced in Rd1 of Postseason, but we got there, and I think everyone agrees that we deserved to be there and to actually go further. Maybe it was nerves, on player / coach level, or just one of those things, it wasn't our day.

One thing I do know is that, if we can keep the majority of players together then next year should be another good one for the Rams.

What do we need?

1. We need to retain our FAs (as much as possible)

• Sullivan
• Watkins
• Barwin
• NRC
• Joyner
• McQuaide

are all priorities in my opinion.

2. A true Run stuffing NT.

• There's Dontari Poe - a year prove it deal, with targets that guarantee an extension? The dude could be a massive add to our D-line
• Justin Ellis from the Raiders? Could we do a package deal + picks for TruJo?
• Pick up a rotational player in the draft

3. Make sure we wrap Greg the Leg in bubble wrap.

• I'm not sure about everyone else, but when we lost Greg, the whole ST seemed to drop its head, not that I'm blaming Greg at all.

4. Make Everrett or #1 TE.

• There's no need to pussyfoot around here, the guy is going to be a game changer, lets get him the reps from day 1

 

[nighttrain]

TruJo is gone SP, gone as is he's an UFA. we get zip for him, otherwise, loved your thots

train

 

[Merlin]

While those 3 are the equivalent of creating a supergroup, i'm not sure the Rams will value the NT position as highly as some here with Donald & Brockers already on staff. Consider that Donald is about to receive the richest contract of any non QB ever, and Brockers will either be extended following the 2019 season or be allowed to hit free agency at the relatively young age of 29. There are plenty of good options in free agency for a run defending NT that are far better than Tyrunn Walker that will come in at a far lower rate of pay than someone like Dontari Poe. Seems to make more sense to draft a NT who will be hitting his 5'th year option around the time Donald & Brockers are seeking their final contract than try to make a Poe contract work now, either that or look to a much more reasonably priced free agent interior lineman to bridge the gap. Just adding a better than average run blocking NT and ILB will make a world of difference in comparison to last season, even if it isn't the sexiest of off-season moves. jmo.

Rams don't have a lot of draft capital do to it, but ideally I'd like to see a starting NT and a depth/rotation who can sub for Brock. When Brock went down vs Atlanta it was curtains for the run defense. I'd guess we'll see one addition and that being a nose, but adding another guy to compete for the rotation with one of those 6th rounders would be nice.

 

[Riverumbbq]

Rams don't have a lot of draft capital do to it, but ideally I'd like to see a starting NT and a depth/rotation who can sub for Brock. When Brock went down vs Atlanta it was curtains for the run defense. I'd guess we'll see one addition and that being a nose, but adding another guy to compete for the rotation with one of those 6th rounders would be nice.

Let's hope Easley comes back at 100% this year. I believe he was actually being pencilled in as the starting LDE with Brockers at NT & Donald at RDE last year. Now that Brockers has shed all that weight and owned LDE, Easley as a rotational reserve should be quite an upgrade so long as we find that excellent rush defending NT we all want. As for a NT, my preference is for one of the several quality free agent options coming available. I'd like to see this position settled prior to the draft.
jmo.

 

[Merlin]

Let's hope Easley comes back at 100% this year. I believe he was actually being pencilled in as the starting LDE with Brockers at NT & Donald at RDE last year. Now that Brockers has shed all that weight and owned LDE, Easley as a rotational reserve should be quite an upgrade so long as we find that excellent rush defending NT we all want. As for a NT, my preference is for one of the several quality free agent options coming available. I'd like to see this position settled prior to the draft.
jmo.

Easley did a good job on the field for us when he was actually on the field. So I recognize the dude can play. But I don't trust him. Genuinely hope they don't position themselves to rely on him.

 

[RamFan503]

A run stuffing NT, possibly more beef at ILB, and more time in the system to dial it in so that when we lose players or have to get rid of them, the next man up is plug and play.

 

[fearsomefour]

Easley did a good job on the field for us when he was actually on the field. So I recognize the dude can play. But I don't trust him. Genuinely hope they don't position themselves to rely on him.

Low risk cheap signing. I wouldn't mind it.

 

[CGI_Ram]

-Find a creative way to sign D. Poe....NT position solid if that happens.

-Depending on how the draft shakes out, snag a NT that makes sense in the right round

-Draft/FA: OL, DL, CB, ILB,

-Resign: Joyner, NRC, Watkins, Sullivan

-Restructure/Trade/Release: Barron, Quinn (I'm all for the restructures here)

I like where your head is at

 

[dieterbrock]

Have you guys seen that movie War Games?
The best move is not to play

I thought you were gonna say,
“I’d pizz on a spark plug if I thought it would do any good”