Barrett Jones says he's healthiest he's been in the NFL/Wagoner

[hotanez]

I have some other thoughts here about Barrett & the center position battles.....

One thing we all knew about our previous 3 yr starting center Scott Wells was he was an excellent person in the community & he & his wife have some very big sizable hearts in building the family they desire.......just great stuff outside the game day playing field.

We all knew that Wells was a professional leader & very smart & was brought here after some pro bowl type yrs with a winning team. Barrett if you dig very deep is a younger version of Wells in many ways. Both Barrett & Tim Barnes never miss the opportunity to mentioned their appreciations & thanks for the yrs of Scott Wells tutoring from the OC post.

Now that Wells after 3 very bad luck yrs has moved on Boudreau has two very smart young centers to fill the void in Tim & Barrett. Boudreau is lucky here now due to these two.

If Barrett losses out to Tim on the starting center post then Barrett can offer up Boudreau some excellent options filling other needs that Tim just can not do. Boudreau has a real issue @ reserve OLT post. Barrett just happens to have excelled & received many accommodations from playing OLT in college. Tim can not help Boudreau in this problem. Barrett also started 26 games for Bama & started & played OG for the BSC National Champions & SEC champions.

Tim Barnes is primarily a center who has played both OG posts for the Rams in pre season the last 3 yrs but never in a regular season game.

I think if Tim is awarded the starting post which i have predicted, Barrett will prove to be an very excellent back to Tim but also reserves for the starting OLG Saffold & OLT Robinson. Can you name be another Boudreau OL'er who could do this for him all in one game day dressed package?

If Barrett was awarded the starting post @ center then Boudreau must set out & find a versatile Ram OL'er who can play OT/OG & OC this will now put Demetrius & Tim in a very bad position due to the lesser abilities to play other posts. Tim Barnes who is much more experienced, bigger & stronger than the small Demetrius Rhaney. Rhaney secure position would become very precarious.

On the other hand the much more versatile OT/OG Andrew Donnal will be bolstered along with UDFA OLT Darrell Williams.

I got to say Bonifay I really enjoy reading your post. I do have one question though in relation to B Jones. Do you honestly believe that he can play LT in the NFL? I know he played the position in college but I have my doubts that he can do it at this level. I hope the coaches can develop a swing tackle because if something happens to Robinson we will have to shift Roger out to tackle.

 

[Demand n 1]

Okay help me out here for real. The OL guy who can play every line position as well as check in as a TE. Not just that part but the 50, 60, 70 number guy who can check into the backfield. What do they call the lineman in the backfield?(not refrigerator) That's our Barrett. You don't cut that kind of brains and brawn.

 

[BonifayRam]

I got to say Bonifay I really enjoy reading your post. I do have one question though in relation to B Jones. Do you honestly believe that he can play LT in the NFL? I know he played the position in college but I have my doubts that he can do it at this level. I hope the coaches can develop a swing tackle because if something happens to Robinson we will have to shift Roger out to tackle.

Thanks your very welcome hotanez I sure hope others feel that way too. For older Ram fans like me who lived away from any known Ram fans for many decades....the last few yrs here that have given me finally an opportunity to hold discussions on a daily basis with really true knowledgeable Ram fans is still very exciting for me. I spent many many decades in Florida holding discussions with all kinds of other NFL team fans but a Ram fan....I was starved to death.....but having a forum like this makes an old man like me feel young! Now I will attempt to answer your question.

Here's the facts.....in 2011 Barrett was moved from his starting OG post after 26 starts. He was moved to the ORT post on the first team. Very early it was recognized that he was a much better technician than first thought & he developed the ability to contain most all penetrations after giving up a some ground initially. Barrett was very effective against all of the better Bama pass rushers. Thus Barrett was flipped to OLT.

That 2011 season Barrett battled some pretty good pass rushers coming at him rushing from their right side....just to name a few Barrett tango'd with Courtney Upshaw, Cory Lemonier, Fletcher Cox, & even Micheal Brockers. Barrett won most of those wars.

Barrett while starting @ Left OT in 2011 season recieved the Wuerffel Trophy, Outland Trophy ,Jacobs Blocking Trophy, Jim Parker Trophy & made the First-team All-SEC OLT & was awarded Consensus All-American @ OLT.

Barrett has two physical features that sure help out a OLT very long arms & very large hands to go with his near 6-5 frame. Do I think that Barrett can be a starting OLT in the NFL...NO but Barrett sure can be an effective game day reserve OLT with no major issues until the long range solution is found, thus giving Boudreau the opportunity to leave Saffold starting @ OG.

 

[BonifayRam]

This article was posted earlier today by RamBill. It had a few nuggets that I had not read in other articles. It fits in with some of my posts on this subject the last several days.

Rams rotate centers during OTAs
http://www.scout.com/nfl/rams/story/1556877-rams-rotate-centers-during-otas

.....Barrett Jones also took some reps at guard late during OTAs while rookie third-rounder Jamon Brown was sidelined with an undisclosed ailment.....

......While Wells won’t be remembered as a strong free agent signing for the organization, the veteran did bring extensive experience to the Rams’ offensive front and had a strong understanding of the mental aspects of the position. Fisher stressed the importance of that part of playing center. “It’s really important,” the coach said. “Scott (Wells) did a really good job with it. Scott was really smart. There’s no indications at this point that there’s going to be limitations from the mental standpoint with the guys that are competing. They all understand.”