Gordo's Tipsheet: Rams remain longshots despite draft haul

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RamBill

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Tipsheet: Rams remain longshots despite draft haul
• By Jeff Gordon

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_e8d81c71-2f82-5819-bee6-0c2fe2045ab7.html

Yes, the Rams helped themselves immensely in the draft. Most experts gave Jeff Fisher, Les Snead and Co. excellent grades.

But the team still has a long, long way to go. NFL.com's Elliot Harrison praised the Rams for having the NFC's best draft haul, but then moved the Rams up just two spots in his latest power rankings to No. 21.

The Seahawks and 49ers ranked 1-2 atop his list and the Cardinals were No. 10. The NFC West is quite a party!

ESPN was a bit more charitable, moving the Rams from No. 20 up to No. 18 -- with the Seahawks (No. 1), 49er (No. 3) and Cardinals (No. 8) still light years ahead in the division.

Las Vegas did not approve of the Rams' Draft. CBSSports.com notes that oddsmakers have them at 50-1 to win the Super Bowl, down from 40-1 before the draft.

Sports on Earth scribe Mike Tanier summed up their plight:

The Rams would be my pick to win the AFC South hands down, and they would at least merit serious wild-card consideration in several other divisions. As it is, they are stuck in a battle for third place, but assuming the team's Sam Bradford faith is even semi-warranted, it is hard to see what more a team can do over three days to improve itself.

SOME MORE FOLLOW-UP ON THE DRAFT

Here is what some of America's leading sports pundits have been writing about pro football:

Gregg Easterbrook, ESPN.com: "Simplifying to eliminate the effects of subsequent trades, here is what Les Mouflons received in lieu of Robert Griffin III: Greg Robinson, Michael Brockers, Janoris Jenkins and Alec Ogletree. Robinson's performance (and Griffin's knee) will determine whether conventional wisdom becomes that St. Louis picked Washington's pocket. Robinson has a decent chance of being the next Orlando Pace. If that happens and the other players obtained continue to perform pretty well, the trade will be seen as a huge win for St. Louis. But will that matter? Since 2008, the Rams have gone first overall once, second overall thrice and also had the draft's eighth, 13th, 14th and 14th choices. Doesn't seem to matter to the standings -- no winning season for St. Louis that period."

Peter King, SI.com: "Greg Robinson is a raw talent who needs time to develop. He’ll initially do so at left guard, and many believe he’ll capture Jake Long’s left tackle job soon after. But Long, if healthy, is not a player you can squeeze out. Recall that Andre Smith entered the league as an enormous raw talent a few years ago and wound up finding a permanent home as Cincinnati’s right tackle. Robinson could do the same thing. But right now Robinson is a guard, which likely means the Rams are staying committed to the between-the-tackles running game that kept their injury-marred offense afloat last year. Tre Mason can add some quickness to that cause, providing a nice complement to Zac Stacy. The Mason pick was also a tacit admission that Isaiah Pead, a second-round pick in GM Les Snead and Jeff Fisher’s first draft in St. Louis, is a bust. Aaron Donald represents a classic case of the rich getting richer, as he joins what was arguably already the best front four in football. On a related note, getting drafted so late by St. Louis was just about the worst thing that could have happened to Michael Sam. There simply isn’t room for him unless Fisher is willing to carry five defensive ends. If Sam had gone undrafted, he could have chosen a team with less depth. Lastly, Lamarcus Joyner and Mo Alexander will both have a chance to play right away given the paucity of talent in St. Louis’s secondary."

Matt Brown, Sports on Earth: "In a passing league, top cornerbacks in the NFL are in high demand. They can play longer, and general managers aren't opposed to giving them long-term deals. So not only do you play a valuable position where, if you're good enough, you'll play every defensive snap, but you'll take a fraction of a fraction of the punishment of a running back. You can play longer, and you can play your way into multiple lucrative contracts if you become a quality starter in the pros. Fewer fans may wear your jersey, and you probably won't end up on the cover of Madden, but the life of a cornerback is generally better than the life of a running back. Or you choose running back. The clock begins ticking the first time you emerge as a starter in college. Two-hundred-carry seasons in the SEC as a freshman don't help longevity, but you have to stay in school until you're three years removed from high school. And when you finally enter the draft, unless you're 'the next Adrian Peterson,' you won't be a top-10 pick and probably won't get taken in the first round. That already limits the amount of money you can earn, at a position where you have to make your money earlier than everyone else, because you can't even get a significant third contract. Running backs hit their primes earlier and leave their primes more quickly, and the situation isn't getting any better as general managers learn to better allocate their resources by placing safer bets on what are now more valuable positions."

Jason La Canfora, CBSSports.com: "The Browns seem intent on trying to make Johnny Football feel like he must earn his way up the depth chart and, hell, you won't find a bigger Brian Hoyer guy than me. But with Hoyer coming off ACL surgery, coordinator Kyle Shanahan a sucker for mobility and Manziel selling a record amount of jerseys the first 12 hours after he was selected in the first round, is anyone buying this will be a fair fight? If you draft Manziel, you kind of know what you're getting into. You can't hold this off for long. The fans, sponsors and everyone else will be clamoring for it. And Cleveland has stunk for so long I just don't seem them delaying the future for long. The most exciting player in college football, who you moved all over the draft board to land, isn't there to hold a clipboard. I don't see this developing as a true quarterback controversy, because as long as Manziel looks quasi-competent in the preseason I am handing him this job. I hope Hoyer gets a real shot here, and if not here, than gets dealt somewhere he can start right now, but I'm not sure it plays out that way."

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while wondering what Gregg Williams will cook up with this dominant defensive line:

What are the 28 stages of fan grief?

How do you explain the whole Michael Sam thing to your kid?

What is Aaron Rodgers up to?

MEGAPHONE

"I guess when teams met with me, they wanted me to say I'll be a third-round guy and a mediocre quarterback, Maybe I was too honest or something. I'm an honest person and I say what I feel. That's how I feel about my play. If that turns a team off, then at the end of the day, to me, they didn't really want you. I was myself."

New Bengals quarterback A.J. McCarron, on reports he rubbed NFL executives the wrong way with his cockiness.
 

iBruce

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Cory
Not sure why Jeff included the Matt Brown and La Canfora pieces in here.
 

max

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max
Gordon is a lightweight. My dog has better insight into football.

Listen to the scouts. They love the Rams draft. And many believe the Rams make the playoffs if Bradford plays well this year.