Jt: Clowney Could Be Rams Ace In The Hole

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brokeu91

The super shrink
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Michael
From Jim Thomas of the StL PD: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_b5afabd9-2386-585e-a51c-c3b9c16fad25.html

INDIANAPOLIS
• Quarterback-needy teams may not be the only ones eyeing that No. 2 overall draft pick currently held by the Rams. Sitting at No. 6 overall are the Atlanta Falcons, who desperately need someone on the edge to boost their pass rush.

Jadeveon Clowney, that’s your cue. Clowney, the defensive end from South Carolina, may be the best athlete in this year’s draft. He has openly lobbied for Atlanta to trade up for him.

Jacksonville, Cleveland, and Oakland are Nos. 3, 4 and 5 overall, respectively, in the upcoming draft. And all three of those clubs could use a quarterback. But what if one of those squads takes a fancy to Clowney? That’s where a trade-up with the Rams comes in.

Conveniently, Rams general manager Les Snead is just two years removed from working in the Atlanta front office. Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff is both a mentor and a good friend. That familiarity could help both parties cut through the red tape and smokescreens and make a deal.

“That helps,” said Snead, who spent 14 years with the Falcons before joining the Rams. “That may be overblown, though. You know just about everybody, so you don’t pick up a phone and think, ‘I’m calling a stranger. This is gonna be a cold call.’

“But yeah, some relationships you have maybe make the initial calls easier. But I think it’s a little overblown that the relationship is gonna get the deal done.”

Not unlike the Rams, the Falcons aren’t afraid to make bold moves on draft day and are always willing to listen. The prime example came in 2011 when the Falcons moved all the way up from 27th in the first round to No. 6 in a trade with Cleveland for wide receiver Julio Jones.

Snead was in his last season with the Falcons before coming to St. Louis and helped make the trade happen.

“I’ve said that from day one, since 2008, that I always want to have the light on for business,” said Dimitroff, who was hired as Falcons GM in 2008. “I never want to be one of those teams that (when) people pick up the phone, they quickly throw the phone back down and hesitate to reach out thinking we’re not going to be straight up.

“I think that’s the biggest thing. When you are ever able to cultivate trades, it’s about being honest with people in your dealings, and I think that we’ve done a nice job of that. We’re always going to be open for business.”

Of course, before any trade takes place, the Rams must decide if they’re going to take Clowney at No. 2. Sure, the Rams are well-stocked at defensive end, with starters Robert Quinn and Chris Long plus backups William Hayes and Eugene Sims. All four are under contract at least through 2014.

Not only does coach Jeff Fisher love collecting pass rushers, he might just see a little bit of Jevon Kearse when he watches Clowney on tape. Speaking generally (wink, wink), Fisher didn’t exactly slam the door on the possibility of adding another pass-rusher.

“You can’t get enough guys that can (rush),” Fisher said. “For example, we lost Will (Hayes) for a couple weeks with an MCL and our numbers went down because Chris (Long) was playing more plays. So the more guys you’ve got up front, the better you are.”

Between Fisher and new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, they’d find a way to get Clowney on the field. The Rams even went so far as to send a fact-finding delegation to South Carolina to learn more about Clowney — something Clowney confirmed.

There’s no question that Clowney has freakish athletic ability. But how badly does he want it? Does he have the hunger, the passion to get after it week after week throughout the long NFL season? That’s the knock.

“I know that he’s got the physical makeup to be the best player in the draft,” NFL Network analyst Mike Mayock said. “From a physical skill set, this kid is as freaky as they come. He plays a position of critical importance in today’s NFL, which is the ability to get the quarterback. He can play multiple places on the defense, so all those things check off.

“My biggest concern is just what’s his mental makeup and how important is it to him when he gets a big paycheck to become the best player in football? Or is he just going to be happy to be a millionaire? So I think the most critical checking point here for an organization is finding out what the motivation, what kind of kid are they going to get?”

But Clowney disputes the notion that he lacks passion for the game.

“I just want to be the best, one of the greatest of all time,” he said. “The NFL is just the next level — stepping stone — in my way. Coming out of high school, I said I wanted to be one of the best in college and I think I proved that.

“Going to the NFL, I want to be one of the best in the NFL, go down in history as one of the best, so I have another stepping stone in my way and hopefully I’ll take care of business and accomplish that in the NFL.”

Like an accomplished actor in the theater or great singer at a concert, Clowney left the crowd wanting more Monday at his workout. He ran the 40 in a sizzling 4.53 at 6-5, 266 pounds. Not only did that lead all defensive linemen, it was faster than many running backs and wide receivers at the combine.

He also posted very impressive numbers in the vertical jump (37 ½ inches) and broad jump (10 feet 4 inches), both of which were second best at the combine for defensive linemen. But Clowney skipped most of the on-field drills, apparently because his hip flexor tightened up.
 

BadCompany

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Joined
Feb 6, 2013
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332
Trade down with Cleveland to #4, then down again with Atlanta to #6. Then use those extra second rounders to move back up from #13 to #7.

Houston - Bortles
Cleveland - Manziel
Jacksonville - Bridgewater
Atlanta - Clowney
Oakland - Matthews
Rams - Robinson
Rams - Watkins

We win! We win!

(y)

(So easy from my keyboard, why can't Snead do it? :p)
 

tonyl711

Starter
Joined
Jul 22, 2013
Messages
863
Trade down with Cleveland to #4, then down again with Atlanta to #6. Then use those extra second rounders to move back up from #13 to #7.

Houston - Bortles
Cleveland - Manziel
Jacksonville - Bridgewater
Atlanta - Clowney
Oakland - Matthews
Rams - Robinson
Rams - Watkins

We win! We win!

(y)

(So easy from my keyboard, why can't Snead do it? :p)
I think this would make pretty much everyone happy.