Article: Grading the 2016 Rams

[LACHAMP46]

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/20170104/grading-the-2016-rams-position-by-position

Any agreements? Please comment below. This is KEY in REBUILDING(I don't care what Demoff says) this team for the 2017 season.

QUARTERBACK

Expectations were mild for Case Keenum at the beginning of the season and he didn’t meet them. He made too many mistakes, so opponents didn’t respect him and focused on shutting down the run game. Jared Goff had predictable ups and downs. This isn’t the time to judge him, but if the same issues pop up again in 2017, the Rams might have a significant problem. Both quarterbacks were hurt by dropped passes, penalties and poor protection. GRADE: C-minus

RUNNING BACK

This forever will be the big mystery of 2016: What happened to the Rams’ run game and Todd Gurley? It’s easy – and, to some extent – accurate, to look at the Rams offensive line as the culprit, but Gurley also didn’t help himself. Too many times, Gurley didn’t show enough patience, didn’t make the proper cuts and didn’t show much ability to break tackles. Perhaps with an improved pass game, he will show improvement in 2017, but this is troubling. GRADE: D

RECEIVER/TIGHT END

One big training-camp storyline was, which pass-catcher would step up for the Rams? The answer: none. Kenny Britt topped 1,000 yards largely because he stayed healthy and had decent hands. He played well. The rest of the group was a disaster. Brian Quick came down with a case of the drops in preseason and never recovered. Tavon Austin, the big-play threat, had four touchdowns in 15 games. Tight end Lance Kendricks was reliable but also had drop issues. GRADE: D-minus

OFFENSIVE LINE

This group is the biggest disappointment of the lot. The Rams thought they were solid on the line heading into 2016, but they couldn’t run the ball and allowed sacks by the handful, particularly late in the season. Left tackle Greg Robinson did not make progress in his third season, and the Rams must determine whether Robinson can be the long-term answer at an important position. Interior run-blocking, with guards, also must improve greatly in 2017. GRADE: D-minus

DEFENSIVE LINE

Not surprisingly, this is the team’s bright spot. The Rams did a nice job of utilizing their depth on the line and rotated players effectively, at least until injuries made that difficult late in the season. Aaron Donald is dominant at tackle, and end Robert Quinn is effective when healthy but seems to have increasing problems staying on the field. William Hayes was effective and Dominique Easley proved to be a nice, low-cost, high-ceiling depth player. GRADE: B-plus

LINEBACKER

The Rams went bold at the end of training camp and released Akeem Ayers, their most veteran linebacker. That left Alec Ogletree, in his first season at middle linebacker, converted safety Mark Barron and a handful of rookies. As expected, the linebackers showed great athleticism and were able to cover the field nicely on tackles, but they weren’t particularly disruptive as the Rams spent most of the season playing their nickel package on defense. GRADE: C-plus

DEFENSIVE BACK

The Rams lost two of their four starters in the secondary to free agency during the offseason but thought they had enough depth. They bet incorrectly. Frequently, the Rams did a solid job of stopping an opponent’s No. 1 receiver, but got burned by No. 2 and No. 3 receivers. The Rams were at their best when cornerbacks Trumaine Johnson and E.J. Gaines were on the field together, but injuries didn’t allow that to happen very often this season. GRADE: B-minus


SPECIAL TEAMS

The year of the punter was quite a thing to behold. Unfortunately, it will go down as something of a joke, that Johnny Hekker was the Rams’ best player. That diminishes what Hekker did in an amazing season in which he set an NFL record for most punts dropped inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Hekker truly was a field-flipper for the Rams, who needed him. Kicker Greg Zuerlein, his career on the line after a rough 2015, rebounded with a fine season. GRADE: A

TEAM MVP

Double coverage? It didn’t matter. Opponents did everything possible to slow down defensive tackle Aaron Donald, and while his sack numbers dropped because of the extra attention, Donald remained a dominant, disruptive force. Donald’s initial burst at the line of scrimmage is nearly unstoppable, and he’s durable. The Rams must continue to support Donald by surrounding him with quality defensive ends, but on a team full of question marks, Donald is a clear star.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Before his first carry in Los Angeles, Todd Gurley landed a national TV commercial and everything seemed to be lined up. Gurley certainly would get to 1,500 yards, right? Perhaps even close to 2,000? Instead, Gurley regressed from a rookie season in which he had the third-most yards in the NFL and he didn’t even get to 1,000 yards. The Rams, very quickly, need to figure out whether they let down Gurley, with a poor scheme and run-blocking, or whether Gurley has some problems that must be addressed.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

It can’t really be Goff, can it? He wasn’t terrible but also didn’t particularly impress. Same goes for the most of the Rams’ other draft picks. Tight ends Tyler Higbee and Temarrick Hemingway and receivers Pharoh Cooper and Mike Thomas never made an impact, although Cooper showed flashes as a returner. So give the nod to linebacker Josh Forrest, a sixth-round draft pick who started four games, contributed on special teams and generally did a solid job before a late-season injury.

That's a lot to take in...I didn't mind the secondary play besides the lack of tighter coverages on obvious downs and distance. And now that Greg Williams is gone, that 1980's scheme should be out the door with him...That said we need 2 corners...EJ is finished, Tru isn't worth his contract. LB & nickle-back is different. We need two studs here...
Offense is another cookie...hence the different color...Red for urgent...ahahahahahahah. My QB situation is looking terrible...but lets do it right. First to go is the LT...Greg is about to get someone killed. So is Barnes. I just saw Jonathan Cooper just signed with Dallas. He played a lil center in the senior bowl practices to show he could...Hasn't been the same since his broken leg. Sound familiar??? Our own Jamon Brown is also recovering from a broken leg.. oh boy.. WR's are easy to find...Not gonna spend a bunch of time on that...Serious scouts should be able to find a good wr...I think Cooper & Thomas are depth players, not game changers...not yet...Thomas does have talent...Cooper, meh...no speed but heart...Keep him...I'd keep him over Tavon...but that's me...We need to replace Kenny...TE's...that's a biggie...We need a TE that can block...and has soft hands...but definitely block...And we should cut Lance...hell, any of them that can't block...Running Back...Todd can take his Carl's jr eating ass to a good gym, and get bigger and stronger...needs to watch more film...but once we find some interior linemen, the old Todd, bigger of course, should return...QB
Man....look at the games...and tell me Goff is the QB of the future...I'll try to believe you.

 

[shovelpass]

Overall I agree, though the grade on Defensive Backs seems a little high.

 

[Psycho_X]

I pretty much agree across the board with the grades. I might bump special teams to an A- simply because the punt return team seemed hugely incompetent most of the season. And Tavon caught the ball when he should have let it bounce and let it bounce when he should have caught it way too much. It's nitpicking though and Hekker was so good that it makes up for it. Could you imagine Johnny Hekker on the Patriots? My god, they'd never lose with Belichek and Brady being given prime field position almost every single possession. Maybe some day we'll have an offense that can finally use what Hekker gives us to their advantage.

Rookie of the year... seriously a bummer of an award this year. It's sad that Forrest is who most of us think of who barely played. But he did show some nice skills when he did. I'd still have to give it to Goff by default though. That first half against New Orleans was the best statistical showing by the offense all season. Really, with the exception of the first half at Detroit, it was the ONLY showing by the offense all season. And Goff looked damn good in it. It's sad but that quarter and a half was the best thing any rookies did all year.

 

[Jorgeh0605]

No F's being handed out on offense is pretty forgiving. Runningbacks certainly deserve that F grade.

 

[Rmfnlt]

The grades align with the final record IMO.

No matter anymore... on to building a top notch organization... from top to bottom IMO.

 

[thirteen28]

This is incomplete, because it doesn't hand out grades for coaches. By unit I would grade:

Offense: F-- (one minus wasn't enough, not sure even two is)
Defense: C
Special Teams: A
Head Coach: F

This is what drives me crazy about much discussion about this team. I'm listening to one of the Rams podcasts, and they are going through the various personnel, but you would think with the guys talking that coaching never enters their mind. While the Rams certainly have some personnel deficiencies, 2016 was mostly, IMO anyway, a coaching failure, especially the massive, epic, no good very bad job of coaching on the offensive side of the ball. Dishonorable mention for a head coach that was at best, terribly inconsistent about holding people accountable and creating a culture where losing seemed to be tolerated, if not excused.

 

[Merlin]

I would have dealt more F's out to one of the most pathetic offenses I have witnessed.

Tight Ends: F. Kendricks sucks, was little better than a rookie TE, dude is just terrible and added very little in a good way to the offense. I like Higs next year, and think he's gonna be a player in this league, but this unit stunk it up.

Recievers: F. Tavon's big year never materialized and he continued to suck with dropped passes and being a non-factor. Quick started hot but predictably slid back to his sorry, wrong-route-running-and-pass-dropping self. Britt was the vet leader hand-picked by Fish and brought in 1k yards of passes but was also not a guy the QBs could count on. Future might be good for Cooper and/or Thomas, and maybe even Spruce who knows, but this past year was nothing but disappointment and Coop in particular did not start to turn it on in the last third of the season the way I hoped he would. Probably the worst unit in the league, if they don't deserve an F nobody does.

OL: F. Just effin terrible man. All of them had either down years or just flat-out played terrible. Definitely the worst OL in the league. Nice job Fish.

 

[Dxmissile]

Quarterback a C- while Gurley gets a D lol how are they graded higher.

Defensive backs b-minus should be a D

Biggest disappointment to me definitely have to be oline.

Overall when you go 4-12 it's an F

 

[bomebadeeda]

It's easy to make knee jerk reactions after the dust settles. But was/is that the real story? I think the failure of this year was clearly on the coaching staff. They knew what they had. They didn't try and upgrade and hoped for the best. And expecting a different result out of the same formula is of course the basis for insanity. (in theory mind you....). Yes, there was more guys w/ another year under their belt.....but as it was shown...(and even bragged upon by some opponents....) what we put on the field was expected. And thusly dealt with. I was as big of Fisher mark as anyone..... (we even share the first 2 names....) but this wasn't good. And as the season meandered on, it got worse. And by some of the comments thrown around by different players after the fact, they felt the same way.
A new plan, is what we are needing. And if that plan can't be realized by certain personnel......then we need to change those personnel. But the core of the team, will not change (Donald, Ogletree, Gurley, Austin, Goff,....yeah... I left out the 14 mil man.....). It may take a season or 2....but a different direction is long overdue. And judging position grouping output from the old schemes, and trying to predict the future.......is a bit futile.

 

[Jacobarch]

The offense has a whole deserves an F

 

[snackdaddy]

I didn't agree with the grades because I thought a couple of them were too generous. I think C minus for quarterback was extremely generous. Neither quarterback was better than a D minus. I would rate the offensive line an F or worse if there was such a thing. Too bad they didn't give grades for the coaching. They were the reason for the bad grades. I'd give them an F and it isn't close. Is there an F minus?

 

[iamme33]

I would rate the offensive line an F or worse if there was such a thing.

how about a g for god awful

 

[hotanez]

I voted no because the grades given were to high except for the Dline and LB could be higher. All offensive position grades should be F. Agree that the coaches should be graded too. But we need something worse than an F for those clowns. Special teams were outstanding.

 

[FRO]

I thought the grades were pretty fair. I appreciate the author not calling Goff a bust after 7 starts. Yeah the grades seemed high, but the characterization of the positions were pretty spot on.

 

[LumberTubs]

While obviously I agree that the offense was bad (historically so), I'm willing to give every single one of them the time to be evaluated by someone that knows what they're doing.

Fact is they've been coached throughout 2016 (and prior to that as well) by a staff that has shown its completely incompetent. The fact that this staff was in place in Fisher's 5th year was his (Fisher's) single biggest failing in my view.

 

[FRO]

While obviously I agree that the offense was bad (historically so), I'm willing to give every single one of them the time to be evaluated by someone that knows what they're doing.

Fact is they've been coached throughout 2016 (and prior to that as well) by a staff that has shown its completely incompetent. The fact that this staff was in place in Fisher's 5th year was his (Fisher's) single biggest failing in my view.

The schemes may have sucked, but they weren't coaching the guys to run bad routes, drop tons of passes, not be able to block anyone, have a ton of penalties. The talent on offense is lacking too. Better coaching will improve the team, but it would still be an offense in the bottom third in the league. They need a talent upgrade as well.

 

[Rmfnlt]

The schemes may have sucked, but they weren't coaching the guys to run bad routes, drop tons of passes, not be able to block anyone, have a ton of penalties. The talent on offense is lacking too. Better coaching will improve the team, but it would still be an offense in the bottom third in the league. They need a talent upgrade as well.

I agree... I think the poor performances are a combination of bad coaching and some lack of talent.

I just hope the lack of talent isn't a large issue.... if it is, there is going to be so much work to do.

 

[FRO]

I agree... I think the poor performances are a combination of bad coaching and some lack of talent.

I just hope the lack of talent isn't a large issue.... if it is, there is going to be so much work to do.

We'll find out next year. Better offensive coaching will surely help.

 

[DaveFan'51]

I'm sorry to say the grades seem about right! It really pains me to admit it!!alm::seizure:

 

[Corbin]

Great Vid worth a watch guys

View: http://www.therams.com/videos/videos/To_Be_Continued_Rams_Enter_New_Offseason/2dc063a0-894c-4f73-981a-e8c98950d3a2