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Fairley Brings Depth to D, But Fisher Needs More Offense
By Luke Schnake
http://www.101sports.com/2015/03/16/fairley-brings-depth-rams-still-needs-though/
With the news of last week’s Nick Foles for Sam Bradford QB swap, a few of the Rams’ other offseason moves received less fanfare. The team also beefed up an already intimidating defense with the addition of free agent lineman Nick Fairley and linebacker Akeem Ayers.
Fairley comes to St. Louis after four years in Detroit, while Ayers is fresh off a Superbowl win with the Patriots, coming there from Tennessee halfway through the 2014 season.
The Rams signed Fairley to a one year deal worth $5 million with close to $3 million in incentives. The incentives are likely due to Fairley’s injury history, having played in 46 of 64 possible games in his career, or his past weight issues. The Lions reportedly asked Fairley to slim down last offseason and he dropped to around 295, to the point where coach Jim Caldwell said that may have been too much.
However, in training camp Fairley jumped back to near 315 and was subsequently dropped on the depth chart after being outplayed in practice.
Fairley made a surprise appearance during Foles’ press conference Friday and had his own later that afternoon where he stated his current weight is 28o pounds. He addressed the questions of if this meant he wanted to become more of an edge rusher and if he planned to keep 280 as his punching weight come gametime.
“No, I’m really just preparing myself for the long term, longevity, and everything,” Fairley said.
“I’m going to put on some muscle of course and everything. When I come back in April with the guys in the strength and conditioning program, I’m sure they’re going to get me to where I need to be,” he added.
The possible $8 million addition of Fairley to a D-Line corps including Chris Long and Robert Quinn at ends, and 2014 Defensive Rookie of the Year Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers as tackles gives the Rams an embarrassment of riches on that side of the ball. But some say it’s time to do the same for the other line.
“There are a lot of good, athletic guys out there in this year’s draft,” 101ESPN NFL analyst Marc Lillibridge said. “(Ty) Samborello from Colorado State jumps to mind, who is a good overall player…And they could also bring in some veteran guys.”
joe barksdale
Free agent OT Joe Barksdale could be back with the Rams soon.
University of Miami tackle Erick Flowers is also listed in several mock drafts as a first round option, along with La’el Collins of LSU and Andrus Peat of Stanford.
Iowa guard Brandon Scherff figures to be the top guard, while center Cameron Erving of Florida State is considered top at his position.
The Rams will most likely be interested in a tackle and/or center after releasing Jake Long and Scott Wells last week.
Lillibridge also echoed mentions of Joe Barksdale’s return being a possible part of the equation, saying retaining the offensive tackle would be a positive move for the team.
In a recent piece for 101sports.com, Randy Karraker proposes recent O-Line moves could be additions by subtraction, saying the Rams have fallen short in efforts to strengthen the position.
“Notable by its absence in the transaction listings for the Rams is any mention of additions to the offensive line. In fairness, the Rams may have made additions by the subtraction of injury-plagued tackle Jake Long and disappointing center Scott Wells,” Karraker said.
“The failure of those two to provide meaningful quality play extends the Rams’ streak of ineptitude in adding offensive linemen to fifteen years, through the tenures of general managers Jay Zygmunt, Billy Devaney and Les Snead, and coaches Mike Martz, Scott Linehan, Steve Spagnuolo and Jeff Fisher.”
Though the Rams made a statement early on in free agency, a number of questions still loom. Gaps in the offensive line will likely be top of mind.
By Luke Schnake
http://www.101sports.com/2015/03/16/fairley-brings-depth-rams-still-needs-though/
With the news of last week’s Nick Foles for Sam Bradford QB swap, a few of the Rams’ other offseason moves received less fanfare. The team also beefed up an already intimidating defense with the addition of free agent lineman Nick Fairley and linebacker Akeem Ayers.
Fairley comes to St. Louis after four years in Detroit, while Ayers is fresh off a Superbowl win with the Patriots, coming there from Tennessee halfway through the 2014 season.
The Rams signed Fairley to a one year deal worth $5 million with close to $3 million in incentives. The incentives are likely due to Fairley’s injury history, having played in 46 of 64 possible games in his career, or his past weight issues. The Lions reportedly asked Fairley to slim down last offseason and he dropped to around 295, to the point where coach Jim Caldwell said that may have been too much.
However, in training camp Fairley jumped back to near 315 and was subsequently dropped on the depth chart after being outplayed in practice.
Fairley made a surprise appearance during Foles’ press conference Friday and had his own later that afternoon where he stated his current weight is 28o pounds. He addressed the questions of if this meant he wanted to become more of an edge rusher and if he planned to keep 280 as his punching weight come gametime.
“No, I’m really just preparing myself for the long term, longevity, and everything,” Fairley said.
“I’m going to put on some muscle of course and everything. When I come back in April with the guys in the strength and conditioning program, I’m sure they’re going to get me to where I need to be,” he added.
The possible $8 million addition of Fairley to a D-Line corps including Chris Long and Robert Quinn at ends, and 2014 Defensive Rookie of the Year Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers as tackles gives the Rams an embarrassment of riches on that side of the ball. But some say it’s time to do the same for the other line.
“There are a lot of good, athletic guys out there in this year’s draft,” 101ESPN NFL analyst Marc Lillibridge said. “(Ty) Samborello from Colorado State jumps to mind, who is a good overall player…And they could also bring in some veteran guys.”
joe barksdale
Free agent OT Joe Barksdale could be back with the Rams soon.
University of Miami tackle Erick Flowers is also listed in several mock drafts as a first round option, along with La’el Collins of LSU and Andrus Peat of Stanford.
Iowa guard Brandon Scherff figures to be the top guard, while center Cameron Erving of Florida State is considered top at his position.
The Rams will most likely be interested in a tackle and/or center after releasing Jake Long and Scott Wells last week.
Lillibridge also echoed mentions of Joe Barksdale’s return being a possible part of the equation, saying retaining the offensive tackle would be a positive move for the team.
In a recent piece for 101sports.com, Randy Karraker proposes recent O-Line moves could be additions by subtraction, saying the Rams have fallen short in efforts to strengthen the position.
“Notable by its absence in the transaction listings for the Rams is any mention of additions to the offensive line. In fairness, the Rams may have made additions by the subtraction of injury-plagued tackle Jake Long and disappointing center Scott Wells,” Karraker said.
“The failure of those two to provide meaningful quality play extends the Rams’ streak of ineptitude in adding offensive linemen to fifteen years, through the tenures of general managers Jay Zygmunt, Billy Devaney and Les Snead, and coaches Mike Martz, Scott Linehan, Steve Spagnuolo and Jeff Fisher.”
Though the Rams made a statement early on in free agency, a number of questions still loom. Gaps in the offensive line will likely be top of mind.