Sunday, January 30, 2011

A Bigger Need than Receiver in the Draft?













Is wide receiver the biggest need in the draft? During the season I was saying yes, but now that the season is over you have to remember we get Avery back healthy, Clayton back(if re-signed), and Alexander if he can stay healthy isn't too bad for receivers. I still think we have to address receiver in the draft, but not necessarily in the first round. I think our biggest need besides receiver is a big mauling guard who can get to the second level. The only guard i could see going in the first round would be Mike Pouncey, but he would be a late first rounder. I think at 14 if Julio Jones is there you take him,  but if not trade back for some picks. This a deep draft in the later rounds where you can get good value in rounds 2 through 5. A few guard prospects i would consider drafting would be Florida's Mike Pouncey in round 2 if hes still there also I'd consider Wisconsin's Moffit in the second. In the 3rd i would be happy with TCU's Cannon (6'5, 350) who is exactly what we need at the right guard position. Another player I almost forgot about is Alabama's James Carpenter, I think he will be a good guard at the NFL level, and he really impressed me during the Senior Bowl. Speaking of the Senior Bowl 2 players that really impressed me were Phil Taylor the DT out of Baylor and Kentucky RB Derek Locke

Monday, January 24, 2011

Good news for the Rams in the draft

Good news for those hoping the Rams draft a wide receiver in the 1st round. According to Nfl.com Carson Palmer has demanded a trade or threatens to retire. Cincinnati is a receiver needy team who by many people is assumed to take a receiver with their #4 pick, may now have to change their draft board up. Assumed by many the Bengals would take A.J. Green, but now if they lose their starting quarterback they may look at someone like Blaine Gabbert or Ryan Mallett. So how does this help the Rams? This means A.J. Green could drop which I think would be to #6 with the Browns. After the Browns there is nobody who would draft a receiver this early except Washington who is the big wildcard in this draft. They could use a receiver but I think they need a quarterback even more unless you think Rex Grossman is gunna lead them to Victories. I think this is working out nicely to get Julio Jones with our #14 pick.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Grading the Rams 2010 draft

Round 1 Pick1 - Sam Bradford - A
                          This is a no-brainer draft pick and it definatly was the right one. Bradford is the real deal and will soon be one of the elite qbs in the league. He put up monster numbers his rookie season(18tds, 60% completion) he threw for over 3,000 yards and even set the rookie record for most attempts without an interception. Sam Bradford is the face of the franchise and this draft

Round 2 Pick1 - Roger Saffold - B+
                          This kid stepped in and played left tackle all season. He didnt let last years #2 overall pick Jason Smith go back to his "natural" side and kept him at right tackle. Saffold was said to be one the steals of the draft. He had 1st round talent but fell to the second round(not too far though). He only gave up 3 sacks this season and showed flashes of great potential.

Round 3 Pick1 - Jerome Murphy - B-
                          On draft day i liked this pick, he looked like a tough hard-hitting physical corner. What disappointed me was that he was barely on the field. Kevin Dockery was used in nickle and I felt that should of been Murphy. Murphy was solid on kick coverage and a really good gunner. Hopefully next season he can become our nickle corner.

Round 4 Pick1 - Mardy Gilyard - D
                          I hated this pick from day one. I live in Syracuse and i personally wanted Mike Williams at this spot. I thought it would of been a huge steal, because off the field Williams is a bonehead but on of it he's a top level talent. Mardy Gilyard never impressed me in college and he struggled to learn the playbook and get on the field this year.

Round 5 Pick 1 - Michael Hoomanawanui - B
                           I would of rated him higher if he wasn't injured a good part of the season. Illinois Mike as some call him, showed real promise as being a go to guy on the offense and a good starter. Coming out of college he was said to be a good blocker but this season he showed great hand and receiving ability. I cannot wait to see his play next year.

Round 5 Pick18 - Hall Davis - F
                             He got traded to Washington and then eventually cut, enough said.

Round 6 Pick1  - Fendi Onobun -B-
                           Later in the draft i don't mind taking risks on a "project" type player. Onobun definatly has athletic ability and size. Hopefully he can get healthy and be the next Gates.

Round 6 Pick20 - Eugene Sims - C+
                           He was off and on the active roster on gameday. Hes a raw player but showed some good ability when he was on the field.

Round 7 Pick4 - Marquis Johnson - C+
                          Went on IR early in the season, didnt see too much from him in college at Alabama

Round 7 Pick19 - George Selvie - B+
                           Loved this draft pick. Seeing a lot of South Florida games I saw a lot of Selvie. He was a monster early in college then started to taper off. Hopefully the coaching staff can get him to play to his double digit sack ability. He showed good quickness off the snap during the season and was good rushing the passer. Next year should be a big year for Selvie.

Round 7 Pick47 - Josh Hull - C+
                           Another late rounder that went on IR early in the season. I didn't see Hull play much, but you gotta like any linebacker who comes out of Penn State right?
                         
I would grade the Rams' 2010 draft as an A. It will always be known as the Bradford draft. Everything the Rams have is riding on the development of Sam Bradford. I would have graded the draft as an A+ if not for the Mardy Gilyard pick in the 4th round. Overall i'm happy with the progress the Rams and the Rams' front office is making.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

What will the Rams 2011 offense look like?

Photo from media.nj.com
The past 2 years of the Pat Shurmer "dink and dunk" offense are now long gone. Some were critical, myself included that the the offense was too conservative. In comes Josh McDaniels, known for opening up the playbook and having his own bag of tricks. So the question is..... will the Rams' 2011 offense be like the 2007 Patriots' offense or the 2010 Rams' offense? I have a feeling it's going to be a little bit in between of the two. Player personal has to also be taken into account. There is no Randy Moss on this team or Wes Welker, although Amendola draws comparisons. Yet another year of getting healthy for Danario Alexander, Donnie Avery coming back, and the possibility of a 1st round wideout (Julio Jones) could do wonders for the 2011 Rams' offense. Not to mention a year under Bradford's belt doesn't hurt. I'll take the wait and see approach but I certainly can't help but be excited for next years offense and expect to see more down the field pass attempts.

Kiper-Jones to St. Louis

Mel Kiper released his 1st mock draft today, interesting enough he has Julio Jones falling to the Rams at 14. You can bet thats my dream scenario.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

McDaniels to St. Louis......Done Deal

Well it's official, ESPN's Adam Scheftler and Chris Mortensen are reporting via Twitter that the Rams have signed McDaniels as offensive coordinator. I love this signing and well was starting to lose hope from earlier reports. McDaniels has a fresh and exciting offense. Just think of the 2007 undefeated Patriots and their playcalling. Sam Bradford can excell in this offense and can play like Brady. Also what makes it better is a McDaniels offense with Matt Cassel went 11-5 in 08 when Brady went down. This offense made Brandon Lloyd into a top receiver this year. I'm pretty excited about this hire and hopefully Bradford is digging into the playbook ASAP.

Rams next offensive coordinator?

It's been speculated for awhile now that Josh McDaniels could be the Rams next offensive coordinator. A few nights ago ESPN's John Clayton said he would be shocked if McDaniels wasn't our next coordinator. Now According to NFL.com's Lombardi McDaniels could make his decision in the next 24 hours. St. Louis is certainly the favorite for the former Broncos head coach, but if the rams lose out on McDaniels the next man in line is Vikings former coach Brad Childress. I'm not totally sold on Childress as the Rams next coordinator, I guess time will tell.

Update: Chris Mortensen of ESPN tweeted that talks between the rams and McDaniels have "broken down", and that they are now asking for permission to speak with Falcons' Bill Musgrave and Vikings' Darrell Bevell

Monday, January 17, 2011

Rams have the 14th pick

Rams have the 14th pick in this years draft. There are many positions we could go for, yet i feel wide receiver is the route we should take. The 1st round receiver list has decreased since Justin Blackmon didnt declare for the draft and AJ Green should be off the board by our pick. What i hope is that Julio Jones falls right in our lap and it should be a no-brainer.