I have no idea which way they go now

[max]

With 2 likely high draft picks in 2014, a rich crop of QBs available, and question marks surrounding Bradford, I don't think it's clear that the Rams will put all their eggs in one basket with Sam.

As much as I like Sam and have been and continue to root hard for him, the Rams are fortunate to have strong options and they can't ignore that fact.

I can just as easily hear Fisher saying the Rams will stay the course with Sam, expect him to make a full recovery, and be the guy next year, as I can hear them saying they have to wait and see and evaluate all their options.

What ifs are easy to do here. I mean, what if the Rams are staring at a great QB prospect at the top of the first round? Can they be so sure about Sam being durable enough not to pull the trigger on a highly talented young QB who will be much cheaper and more durable? And what is Sam trade value? That's another factor.

It's not easy to project what will happen in 2014.

 

[nighttrain]

With 2 likely high draft picks in 2014, a rich crop of QBs available, and question marks surrounding Bradford, I don't think it's clear that the Rams will put all their eggs in one basket with Sam.

Draft a QB in 3rd round

As much as I like Sam and have been and continue to root hard for him, the Rams are fortunate to have strong options and they can't ignore that fact.

No options at all for the rest of the season, a bad call by Fisher/Snead unless Clemons really makes this comment foolish

I can just as easily hear Fisher saying the Rams will stay the course with Sam, expect him to make a full recovery, and be the guy next year, as I can hear them saying they have to wait and see and evaluate all their options.

coachspeak, but i bet we use at least a 3rd on a QB, unless we pull off a trade for the rest of this season, Clemons, YIKES

What ifs are easy to do here. I mean, what if the Rams are staring at a great QB prospect at the top of the first round? Can they be so sure about Sam being durable enough not to pull the trigger on a highly talented young QB who will be much cheaper and more durable? And what is Sam trade value? That's another factor.

It's not easy to project what will happen in 2014

.

SB is still our QB in 14, unless the occult occurs with the 2nd finding of a KW out there.
train

 

[brokeu91]

I can see the Rams drafting a QB because of insurance policy in case Sam is not ready for the season opener next year, plus it could be a QB to develop. This is a draft stocked with QB talent and so this might be one in which they draft one high.

We still need help at safety, back-up DT, OG, OT

 

[nighttrain]

I can see the Rams drafting a QB because of insurance policy in case Sam is not ready for the season opener next year, plus it could be a QB to develop. This is a draft stocked with QB talent and so this might be one in which they draft one high.

We still need help at safety, back-up DT, OG, OT

Draft a QB with say a 3rd pick, i'm with you
train lus1:

 

[max]

Drafting a QB with a 3rd round pick is a tough way to go if you're looking for a quality starter. There have been 18 QB drafted in the 3rd round since 2000. And 2 of them Schaub and Wilson have done well.

1 2013 3 73 Mike Glennon
2 2012 3 75 Russell Wilson
3 2012 3 88 Nick Foles
4 2011 3 74 Ryan Mallett
5 2010 3 85 Colt McCoy
6 2008 3 94 Kevin O'Connell
7 2007 3 92 Trent Edwards
8 2006 3 81 Charlie Whitehurst
9 2006 3 85 Brodie Croyle
10 2005 3 67 Charlie Frye
11 2005 3 69 Andrew Walter
12 2005 3 85 David Greene
13 2004 3 90 Matt Schaub
14 2003 3 88 Dave Ragone
15 2003 3 97 Chris Simms
16 2002 3 81 Josh McCown
17 2000 3 65 Giovanni Carmazzi
18 2000 3 75 Chris Redman

 

[BigRamFan]

With 2 likely high draft picks in 2014, a rich crop of QBs available, and question marks surrounding Bradford, I don't think it's clear that the Rams will put all their eggs in one basket with Sam.

As much as I like Sam and have been and continue to root hard for him, the Rams are fortunate to have strong options and they can't ignore that fact.

I can just as easily hear Fisher saying the Rams will stay the course with Sam, expect him to make a full recovery, and be the guy next year, as I can hear them saying they have to wait and see and evaluate all their options.

What ifs are easy to do here. I mean, what if the Rams are staring at a great QB prospect at the top of the first round? Can they be so sure about Sam being durable enough not to pull the trigger on a highly talented young QB who will be much cheaper and more durable? And what is Sam trade value? That's another factor.

It's not easy to project what will happen in 2014.

Can you be sure of the durability of a rookie QB who has never taken a snap in the NFL? Yesterday's injury was just that, an injury. It says nothing about Sam's durability. No way a reasonable FO considers drafting a QB early next year. A latter round guy to develop as a backup, sure, but no way are we looking for a starter.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

They can sign Michael Vick. Vick won't be starting in Philadelphia after the Eagles mortgage the house NS all of their picks to get Marcus Mariota.

Plus there are a ton of grocery stores in St Louis. They can try out every stock boy that they can find until they find a good one to rally around.

 

[Thordaddy]

With 2 likely high draft picks in 2014, a rich crop of QBs available, and question marks surrounding Bradford, I don't think it's clear that the Rams will put all their eggs in one basket with Sam.

As much as I like Sam and have been and continue to root hard for him, the Rams are fortunate to have strong options and they can't ignore that fact.

I can just as easily hear Fisher saying the Rams will stay the course with Sam, expect him to make a full recovery, and be the guy next year, as I can hear them saying they have to wait and see and evaluate all their options.

What ifs are easy to do here. I mean, what if the Rams are staring at a great QB prospect at the top of the first round? Can they be so sure about Sam being durable enough not to pull the trigger on a highly talented young QB who will be much cheaper and more durable? And what is Sam trade value? That's another factor.

It's not easy to project what will happen in 2014.

Good post max, you MUST have stayed at Holiday Inn last might

Actually how I see it is unless AD comes up and wows us if we get a shot at a great prospect we pull the trigger anyway cuz of this team Was Super Bowl ready and we had this injury happen we don't HAVE an adequate replacement now, so JMO our current back ups were an acknowledgement of how fucked we were if Sam went down anyway.

I will say this though if we could give a 7 or 6 for Kyle Orton I'd do it

 

[STLINI]

Drafting a QB with a 3rd round pick is a tough way to go if you're looking for a quality starter. There have been 18 QB drafted in the 3rd round since 2000. And 2 of them Schaub and Wilson have done well.

1 2013 3 73 Mike Glennon
2 2012 3 75 Russell Wilson
3 2012 3 88 Nick Foles
4 2011 3 74 Ryan Mallett
5 2010 3 85 Colt McCoy
6 2008 3 94 Kevin O'Connell
7 2007 3 92 Trent Edwards
8 2006 3 81 Charlie Whitehurst
9 2006 3 85 Brodie Croyle
10 2005 3 67 Charlie Frye
11 2005 3 69 Andrew Walter
12 2005 3 85 David Greene
13 2004 3 90 Matt Schaub
14 2003 3 88 Dave Ragone
15 2003 3 97 Chris Simms
16 2002 3 81 Josh McCown
17 2000 3 65 Giovanni Carmazzi
18 2000 3 75 Chris Redman

Completely agree with this. If we're talking about just taking a development guy that could be a #2 that maybe someday develops into a starter, then taking one in the 3rd round or later is fine. But if people are talking about moving on from Bradford, then they have to be serious and take one early.

Personally, Mariota is the only guy that gets me a little excited. I'm not sure at this point that anybody else is an upgrade over Bradford. And I still think Bradford can be our "franchise QB", but I understand the sentiment that if we have a chance to get a top guy, that the oppurtunity doesn't necessarily come around often.

 

[max]

I don't want people who don't know me to get the wrong idea.

I love Sam. I pushed hard to draft him in 2010 and felt he was gonna be the greatest QB in Rams history.

From the start, the only concern that I've ever really had about him was his body type or frame. Sure he has added a lot of bulk to his body but he's not a big bone guy like Luck or Favre. So I was always a little concerned about that. OTOH, he is similar to Brady who is a long legged guy who was a skinny kid when the Pats drafted him. So yeah, I may be over blowing the concern a bit. But I'm just not sure, that's all I'm saying here.

And what I'm trying to get at in this thread is what is the prudent course of action for the Rams in 2014. How many eggs do they put in proverbial Bradford basket? Do they hedge their bets and if so, by how much?

My dream scenario is that Sam comes back great guns in 2014, behind a more grown up supporting cast and a dominant defense on the other side of the ball. There have been QB that were snake bit by injuries early in their career that came back and won Super Bowls. Phil Simms comes to mind immediately. And Sam was playing well the last few games. Better than the rest of his supporting cast, IMHO.

I just wonder what the Snead/Fisher will do. Almost certainly they will draft at least a developmental QB in a mid round. But will they do more than that? I can see it going several ways.

 

[iced]

i think sams injury guarantee's us atleast one top 10 pick (probably 2)...

question is what will you do when there's a top qb prospect staring you in the face?

only thing thats promising is to know that they should have an idea where bradford is at in his recovery by then

 

[BigRamFan]

i think sams injury guarantee's us atleast one top 10 pick (probably 2)...

question is what will you do when there's a top qb prospect staring you in the face?

only thing thats promising is to know that they should have an idea where bradford is at in his recovery by then

You trade it for more picks.

 

[lockdnram21]

i think sams injury guarantee's us atleast one top 10 pick (probably 2)...

question is what will you do when there's a top qb prospect staring you in the face?

only thing thats promising is to know that they should have an idea where bradford is at in his recovery by then

You trade it for more picks.

You draft him and the best man starts

 

[A55VA6]

Marcus. Mariota.

Can run, he's smart, and throws a laser. Bradford has next year to really prove he's our QB.. i don't see anything more than that.

 

[max]

Marcus. Mariota.

Can run, he's smart, and throws a laser. Bradford has next year to really prove he's our QB.. i don't see anything more than that.

So they keep 2 high first round QBs next year?

And how can that play out?

One way is Sam plays fairly well next year, QB rating in the 90s, but not lights out possibly due to the recovery from the long time off.

Then what do they do? Extend the contract with Sam in 2015, and keep Mariota on the bench a 2nd year? Or trade Mariota for less than they paid for him? That doesn't make sense.

I think if the draft a QB high then they will have to make the decision fairly quickly to move on from Sam.

Then you've got the big problem of what happens if Mariota is not so hot, and Sam blossoms for another team.

This is not an easy call at this time.

 

[Rabid Ram]

Marcus. Mariota.

Can run, he's smart, and throws a laser. Bradford has next year to really prove he's our QB.. i don't see anything more than that.

This
I love Bradford and hope he succeeds and if he does Mariota can be our Aaron Rodgers top draft choice are not as expensive as they used to be. That being said best player starts

 

[Thordaddy]

Ya do what Green Bay did,get down to the
Bottom of the first and draft a good prospect

 

[Ramhusker]

Ya do what Green Bay did,get down to the
Bottom of the first and draft a good prospect

^This or trade down on both of our 1st round picks, garner more 2nd round picks and get a QB there. Waiting later has proven not to work out a majority of the time unless you get lucky. This is so depressing.

 

[max]

Ya do what Green Bay did,get down to the
Bottom of the first and draft a good prospect

Well, here's how that happened.

The Packers finished 10-6 in 2004 and that gave them the 24th pick in the first round in 2005. They had an established franchise QB in Favre and were just looking for value in the first round. Rodgers was expected to go high in the first round, the Niners were trying to decide between Rodgers and Smith, and finally decided on Smith. So the Packers were shocked to see Rodgers there at 24, and couldn't not pull the trigger.

Now as far as trading down, well that's what the Bills did with E.J. Manual. They traded down from 8 to 16 with the Rams and picked him while picking up an extra pick in the 2nd round. But Manual wasn't expected anywhere near the top of the first round. Last years draft was not rated to be a good one for QBs, so it made sense to trade down.

2014 will have at least 5 guys drafted in the first round and most of them will go in the top 10. If the Rams evaluate them and really like one of them, it's unlikely they trade down and hope the one they like drops.

 

[A55VA6]

Marcus. Mariota.

Can run, he's smart, and throws a laser. Bradford has next year to really prove he's our QB.. i don't see anything more than that.

So they keep 2 high first round QBs next year?

And how can that play out?

One way is Sam plays fairly well next year, QB rating in the 90s, but not lights out possibly due to the recovery from the long time off.

Then what do they do? Extend the contract with Sam in 2015, and keep Mariota on the bench a 2nd year? Or trade Mariota for less than they paid for him? That doesn't make sense.

I think if the draft a QB high then they will have to make the decision fairly quickly to move on from Sam.

Then you've got the big problem of what happens if Mariota is not so hot, and Sam blossoms for another team.

This is not an easy call at this time.

Sam getting injured and not performing to the level of a #1 pick (he's been good but not THAT good). Draft a QB and he won't have to start right away.