Discuss the current Defenses depth chart

[OldSchool]

If they tendered Westbrooks and nobody else signed him, he's a Ram, right?

He's only a Ram if he signed the tender.

 

[Zero]

As I'm looking at it with the latest signing lets discuss the depth chart. The only thing IMO that is really up in the air is the LDE and NT and their rotations. I'm not really assigning roles to the CB group just top 3 and backups at any and all position. This is my take on it this is 31 people which is much more than we'll carry for a 53 man roster (likely 25ish).

RDE: Donald, Longacre
NT: Walker, Easley, Brockers
LDE: Brockers, Easley, Trinca Pasat

WLB: Quinn, Fox
ILB: Ogletree, Forrest, Grigsby
ILB: Barron, Hager, Northrup
SLB: Barwin, Thompson, Littleton

CB: Johnson, Jordan, Christian
CB: Webster, Hill, Countess
CB: Robey-Coleman, Gaines

FS: Joyner, Davis, Christian
SS: Alexander, Randolph, Johnson

Barron's size worries me a bit.A one gap scheme means
more traffic for LB's to navigate to the ball.Not a ideal
situation for him.Hope he can do it.

 

[OldSchool]

Barron's size worries me a bit.A one gap scheme means
more traffic for LB's to navigate to the ball.Not a ideal
situation for him.Hope he can do it.

I have confidence in him. We've seen Buchanan in a similar role in Arizona with no adverse affects.

 

[Soul Surfer]

He's only a Ram if he signed the tender.

Why wouldn't he sign the tender if he's getting no other offers?

 

[OldSchool]

Why wouldn't he sign the tender if he's getting no other offers?

If he's not getting offers then yeah he's likely to sign the tender. The whole question is was he tendered. Can't find anything from the Rams that he was tendered or signed.

 

[Soul Surfer]

I think the average inside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme is usually around 245-250 pounds.

If anybody can make Barron work there I guess it would be Phillips.

Remember I said Marqui Christian wins the free safety job in Camp.

That is really the only out-of-the-box prediction I'm going to make.

 

[Soul Surfer]

If he's not getting offers then yeah he's likely to sign the tender. The whole question is was he tendered. Can't find anything from the Rams that he was tendered or signed.

I hear you bro. They may be messing with Westbrooks a little by not announcing it is the only thing I can think of in this usual situation.

I see him as a Ram until I hear differently.

 

[ReddingRam]

Last report was March 6th that he was never tendered. This was cited during the initial reporting of the domestic violence investigation. Since then there has been nothing to report from the Rams. May be a good questions to ask Snead.

Yet ... he DOES remain on their "official" roster on the Rams official website....

 

[ReddingRam]

If they tendered Westbrooks and nobody else signed him, he's a Ram, right?

But .. he HAS to SIGN the tender for it to be binding ... correct?

 

[Ram65]

I think the average inside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme is usually around 245-250 pounds.

If anybody can make Barron work there I guess it would be Phillips.

Remember I said Marqui Christian wins the free safety job in Camp.

That is really the only out-of-the-box prediction I'm going to make.

In Denver 2015 they were similar size to Tree and Barron. Barron IIRC weight is a little less.

 

[Soul Surfer]

But .. he HAS to SIGN the tender for it to be binding ... correct?

All contracts have to be signed to be legal I am sure.

He WAS tendered. The only thing that remains a mystery if he signed his tender.

Just a guess here is that he did sign it and the Rams have not announced it to keep him out of the spotlight and out of the public's mind.

Maybe.

 

[Ram65]

All contracts have to be signed to be legal I am sure.

He WAS tendered. The only thing that remains a mystery if he signed his tender.

Just a guess here is that he did sign it and the Rams have not announced it to keep him out of the spotlight and out of the public's mind.

Maybe.

It was announced already.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...ne-johnson-signs-his-la-rams-franchise-tender

 

[Merlin]

Barron's size worries me a bit.A one gap scheme means
more traffic for LB's to navigate to the ball.Not a ideal
situation for him.Hope he can do it.

It's not Barron's size that worries me so much, it's the way he missed assignments last season and seemed to be to blame for multiple big runs. He was just a different player than the guy who they paid, who had run around and made plays all over the joint the previous season.

I do think it's because they expected him to play the scheme moreso, where Williams had observed that the previous season he didn't know wtf he was doing and they let him go get the ball. So the hope is he was thinking too much last season and his play suffered due to that.

Projecting him inside where he's going to have to beat traffic to the play and be disciplined with his gap is what concerns me. That said, Wade is the man and he does make things easy for his defenders. So even though I'm still concerned with Barron at ILB I'm gonna wait it out and see how he looks when I hit camp and the preseason games.

Personally I still think Barron could make one helluva rush LB. So IMO if Quinn suffers back problems again and barring them drafting an edge LB, Barron's the guy I'd put out there to rush the QB on the blindside.

 

[jrry32]

It's not Barron's size that worries me so much, it's the way he missed assignments last season and seemed to be to blame for multiple big runs. He was just a different player than the guy who they paid, who had run around and made plays all over the joint the previous season.

I do think it's because they expected him to play the scheme moreso, where Williams had observed that the previous season he didn't know wtf he was doing and they let him go get the ball. So the hope is he was thinking too much last season and his play suffered due to that.

Projecting him inside where he's going to have to beat traffic to the play and be disciplined with his gap is what concerns me. That said, Wade is the man and he does make things easy for his defenders. So even though I'm still concerned with Barron at ILB I'm gonna wait it out and see how he looks when I hit camp and the preseason games.

I disagree with this. Barron was a better run defender in 2016 imo. He got more splash plays in 2015 because we were typically sending him on run blitzes (for the reasons you pointed out). Barron is new to LB, so there were hiccups, but he wasn't a bad run defender. We mainly got gashed in games where our defensive line was hurting due to injuries. There wasn't much anybody could do about that.

However, Wade's defense is much more of a "see ball get ball" scheme than GW's was. It's far less complicated and far more about reacting and attacking. Plus, the extra size on the field should reduce traffic for Barron since we'll essentially have 5 DLs.

Personally I still think Barron could make one helluva rush LB. So IMO if Quinn suffers back problems again and barring them drafting an edge LB, Barron's the guy I'd put out there to rush the QB on the blindside.

I strongly disagree with this strategy.

 

[ReddingRam]

It was announced already.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...ne-johnson-signs-his-la-rams-franchise-tender

I believe we are talking about Ethan Westbrook

 

[Soul Surfer]

I don't know about Barron as a rush OLB but I wouldn't be surprised to see him pick up a couple of sacks or a few quarterback disruptions but they'll have to scheme for that.

 

[BonifayRam]

I would agree here that @OldSchool questioning Ethan Westbrooks being signed has merit but EW is listed on all 2017 Ram rosters. Why would EW be listed on the roster if he is not a Ram? There is a absence of recent articles on this matter.

With no charges being filed against EW , nothing more than a incident report situation why would the Rams not have signed a bona fide young healthy LDE starter @ a real cheap high valued cost. This 1.7 million contract is one that is just the kind this Ram team needs @ the moment. A RFA- UDFA tendered level is dirt cheap?

EW has been heavily involved in the Rams DL rotation since his arrival. His first season EW only played both DT & NT posts. When Chris Long decided to be hurt in 2014 & 2015 seasons it was EW that took up the rotation @ LDE with Wm Hayes. In passing situations EW would get some playing time in the interior. In this Wade 34 D does anyone have any concerns that EW is not a good LDE starting candidate/prospect?

 

[Riverumbbq]

In this Wade 34 D does anyone have any concerns that EW is not a good LDE starting candidate/prospect?

I do. He wasn't effective at all last season in rush defense and his pass rush fell off last season as well. He's a 3-4 DE/OLB tweener who may not be all that good at either position. I'd prefer Morgan Fox defending against the run as a rotational OLB and bringing in a more effective rotational pass rusher thru the draft, but that's just me. Other than a new starting LDE or at least a good competitor with Easley, i'm OK with our DL playing Brockers, Donald, Easley, Trinca-Pasat & Walker. I'd still look for a late round or free agent NT who specializes in rush defense for our practice squad. Westbrooks may stick because we have more depth worries than draft picks, but I don't count on him as a consistent quality rotational player sticking with the team beyond this season. As it is, Carlos Thompson may be good competition for the Westbrooks role. jmo

 

[BonifayRam]

I can see 6 new probable Ram Defensive starters in these position:
LDE
SSOLB
SS
FS
Nickle
Corner

I should have listed the WSOLB post but I 'll just pretend like the majority of Ram fans & believe that Quinn is healthy & not damaged goodsalm:. Below is how I currently see our Defense.

RDE- Donald/ Easley/ Fox
NT- Brockers/ LTP
LDE- Westbrooks/ Longacre/ Walker
OLB- Quinn/ Littleton
ILB- Barron/ Hager / Northrup/ Grigsby
ILB- Ogletree/ Forrest/ McKinzy
OLB- Barwin/ Thompson
SS- Alexander/ Johnson/ Couplin
FS- Davis/ Joyner / Randolph/ Christian
Nickel- NRC/ Countess
CB-Johnson/ Hill/ Jordan/ Peterson
CB-Webster/ Gaines/ Short

It appears to me that McVay is thick @ both safety posts, entire DL & the interior LB posts. The weak positions are @ OSLB'er, outside Corners & NT.

 

[Riverumbbq]

I can see 6 new probable Ram Defensive starters in these position:
LDE
SSOLB
SS
FS
Nickle
Corner

I should have listed the WSOLB post but I 'll just pretend like the majority of Ram fans & believe that Quinn is healthy & not damaged goodsalm:. Below is how I currently see our Defense.

RDE- Donald/ Easley/ Fox
NT- Brockers/ LTP
LDE- Westbrooks/ Longacre/ Walker
OLB- Quinn/ Littleton
ILB- Barron/ Hager / Northrup/ Grigsby
ILB- Ogletree/ Forrest/ McKinzy
OLB- Barwin/ Thompson
SS- Alexander/ Johnson/ Couplin
FS- Davis/ Joyner / Randolph/ Christian
Nickel- NRC/ Countess
CB-Johnson/ Hill/ Jordan/ Peterson
CB-Webster/ Gaines/ Short

It appears to me that McVay is thick @ both safety posts, entire DL & the interior LB posts. The weak positions are @ OSLB'er, outside Corners & NT.

I just counted 35 defensive players, including 11 LB'ers & 8 DL ... are you planning on 15 offensive players and 3 special teams guys this season ?

Now, if this is part of the 90 due for camp, why not just name all the competing defensive players ?