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Akeem Ayers to compete for starting linebacker job
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/17447/akeem-ayers-to-compete-for-starting-lb-job
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- At last week's NFL owners meetings, St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher got his first opportunity to comment on how and where he sees newly signed linebacker Akeem Ayers fitting in with the team.
Asked point blank whether Ayers would the third starting linebacker alongside James Laurinaitis and Alec Ogletree, Fisher declined to go that far.
“He’ll be competing with Jo-Lonn [Dunbar],” Fisher said.
In some ways, it doesn't really matter who is the "starter" as the third linebacker considering that the Rams spent large chunks of games without a true third linebacker on the field. Mark Barron's presence had the Rams going to their "big nickel" look with three safeties and Barron playing the role of de facto third linebacker on a regular basis over the season's second half.
But considering the price the Rams paid to acquire Ayers -- a two-year, $6 million deal -- it stands to reason that the Rams have big plans for Ayers moving forward. While that's not a budget-busting contract by any means, it's still more than double what Dunbar is scheduled to count against the cap in 2015.
Ayers also has experience playing for current linebackers coach Frank Bush and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams with both having seen Ayers find success as a pass rusher in Tennessee's 4-3 scheme and again in a short stint with the New England Patriots last year.
"He’s versatile," Fisher said. "Early in his career in Tennessee he played for coach Bush. So he’s versatile. He can play behind the line of scrimmage and not entirely on the line of scrimmage. He can play outside linebacker and he can rush, he can drop. He runs well. He did a great job for New England as a standup rusher. He gives us another guy that hopefully we can create mismatches with from a collapsing the pocket.”
Which is another way of saying that Williams is spending his time cooking up ways to get Ayers on the field. Dunbar is probably still the better run defender at this point in his career as that's an area Ayers' reputation isn't all that strong. So the Rams could also mix and match with that pair as well as Barron.
Either way, Fisher is clearly excited about what Ayers brings to the table, calling Ayers and defensive tackle Nick Fairley the team's top two defensive targets in free agency when the market opened.
"We actually targeted both Akeem and Nick," Fisher said. "From a fit standpoint and a need standpoint, those were our top two defensive players. Walking away thinking that we were able to get both of them was really good."
By Nick Wagoner
http://espn.go.com/blog/st-louis-rams/post/_/id/17447/akeem-ayers-to-compete-for-starting-lb-job
EARTH CITY, Mo. -- At last week's NFL owners meetings, St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher got his first opportunity to comment on how and where he sees newly signed linebacker Akeem Ayers fitting in with the team.
Asked point blank whether Ayers would the third starting linebacker alongside James Laurinaitis and Alec Ogletree, Fisher declined to go that far.
“He’ll be competing with Jo-Lonn [Dunbar],” Fisher said.
In some ways, it doesn't really matter who is the "starter" as the third linebacker considering that the Rams spent large chunks of games without a true third linebacker on the field. Mark Barron's presence had the Rams going to their "big nickel" look with three safeties and Barron playing the role of de facto third linebacker on a regular basis over the season's second half.
But considering the price the Rams paid to acquire Ayers -- a two-year, $6 million deal -- it stands to reason that the Rams have big plans for Ayers moving forward. While that's not a budget-busting contract by any means, it's still more than double what Dunbar is scheduled to count against the cap in 2015.
Ayers also has experience playing for current linebackers coach Frank Bush and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams with both having seen Ayers find success as a pass rusher in Tennessee's 4-3 scheme and again in a short stint with the New England Patriots last year.
"He’s versatile," Fisher said. "Early in his career in Tennessee he played for coach Bush. So he’s versatile. He can play behind the line of scrimmage and not entirely on the line of scrimmage. He can play outside linebacker and he can rush, he can drop. He runs well. He did a great job for New England as a standup rusher. He gives us another guy that hopefully we can create mismatches with from a collapsing the pocket.”
Which is another way of saying that Williams is spending his time cooking up ways to get Ayers on the field. Dunbar is probably still the better run defender at this point in his career as that's an area Ayers' reputation isn't all that strong. So the Rams could also mix and match with that pair as well as Barron.
Either way, Fisher is clearly excited about what Ayers brings to the table, calling Ayers and defensive tackle Nick Fairley the team's top two defensive targets in free agency when the market opened.
"We actually targeted both Akeem and Nick," Fisher said. "From a fit standpoint and a need standpoint, those were our top two defensive players. Walking away thinking that we were able to get both of them was really good."
