Who is Our Jenga Piece?

[Bluesy]

How about Jake Long, then we have to slide Saffold to take his spot which durability wise scares me to death. Replace his spot with Davin Joseph who doesn't exactly have a squeaky clean injury history either. If Jake goes down our o-line is in serious trouble.

I almost said the same, but out oline depth is better than LB depth in my opinion. Tough choice though.

 

[Akrasian]

While Bradford is the essential piece - I think Brockers is the piece that the defense can't live without. Absorbing multiple blockers (at times, at least) so that others can get free and cause havoc - and getting enough tackles and sacks that if he's not carefully blocked the rival team is screwed. There's not really one player that would cripple the Rams if they lost him - but Brockers would be a far bigger loss than many would think at least.

 

[Debacled]

JL is the brain on the field, regardless of how average some "fans" make him out to be. Take him off the field and the entire defense gets worse, not just at MLB.

The D-Line guys are important, but they all get subbed off. Quinn and Long led them playing about 78% of the defensive snaps. JL missed 10 plays all season (interestingly Rodney McLeod was off the field for only 5). Jenkins was out for 20 and Ogletree out for 23.

 

[blue4]

While Bradford is the essential piece - I think Brockers is the piece that the defense can't live without. Absorbing multiple blockers (at times, at least) so that others can get free and cause havoc - and getting enough tackles and sacks that if he's not carefully blocked the rival team is screwed. There's not really one player that would cripple the Rams if they lost him - but Brockers would be a far bigger loss than many would think at least.

I agree.

 

[Barrison]

I almost said the same, but out oline depth is better than LB depth in my opinion. Tough choice though.

Sure we have depth, but putting Saffold out at LT again is the worst idea possible but a move they would have to make if Long was setback. The chances of him playing the full year at LT doesn't make me feel confident. So how do you feel if Long has to be out for an extended period of time, Saffold gets hurt in his 2nd game at LT and now we have to put Robinson at LT and possibly have a line of; Robinson, Jones, Wells, Joseph and Barksdale. Boudreau could probably make that work, but damn it is nowhere near the force it can be with Long and Saffold in it.

 

[theramsruleUK]

This may not be a popular choice but i'm going to say Hekker. The dude is a stud, if he went down I don't even know who replaces him, and he's way under appreciated for what he does.

Field position is extremely important and he's one of the very best at that.

That's a good shout. Wouldn't say he's a jenga piece but he's very important.

 

[ChrisW]

Other - Sam Bradford.

You can't make Bradford offhands when he is the Jenga piece of our team....sorry.

 

[Bluesy]

This may not be a popular choice but i'm going to say Hekker. The dude is a stud, if he went down I don't even know who replaces him, and he's way under appreciated for what he does.

Field position is extremely important and he's one of the very best at that.

Sneaky good choice right there. Hopefully we won't be punting as much as we have in the past (more scoring) but idk who would replace him. Good call.

Sure we have depth, but putting Saffold out at LT again is the worst idea possible but a move they would have to make if Long was setback. The chances of him playing the full year at LT doesn't make me feel confident. So how do you feel if Long has to be out for an extended period of time, Saffold gets hurt in his 2nd game at LT and now we have to put Robinson at LT and possibly have a line of; Robinson, Jones, Wells, Joseph and Barksdale. Boudreau could probably make that work, but damn it is nowhere near the force it can be with Long and Saffold in it.

I feel you, I definitely see Long as a key piece, just not as crucial as Laurinaitis. There are more "ifs" in your scenario. If JL (Laurinaitis, not Jake Long, haha confusing) goes down, it's hard to argue that we have a suitable LB backup for him, whereas on the o-line we do have a few people who could potentially get the job done at left tackle. Regardless, both are important players.

Other - Sam Bradford.

You can't make Bradford offhands when he is the Jenga piece of our team....sorry.

I think you missed the point bud haha. We all know that's already the case, the question was focused on who else has a big impact to this team.

 

[junkman]

On offense, I was also thinking Jake Long - we saw what happened last year when Long went down, Saffold shifted to LT, no inside push, nowhere for Stacey to run. But that same thread of logic suggests that Safflold (speciifically at RG) could likewise be that Jenga piece. Or what about Stacey himself? The Rams on O were pretty worthless without him weeks 1-4 last year.

On defense, I don't know how you can go anywhere other than Quinn. His impact last year was nothing short of remarkable. And he stood head and shoulders above the rest of the Rams D in terms of how much impact he had.

 

[Angry Ram]

Janoris Jenkins; not only if he gets hurt, but if he remains inconsistent.

 

[ChrisW]

Sneaky good choice right there. Hopefully we won't be punting as much as we have in the past (more scoring) but idk who would replace him. Good call.



I feel you, I definitely see Long as a key piece, just not as crucial as Laurinaitis. There are more "ifs" in your scenario. If JL (Laurinaitis, not Jake Long, haha confusing) goes down, it's hard to argue that we have a suitable LB backup for him, whereas on the o-line we do have a few people who could potentially get the job done at left tackle. Regardless, both are important players.



I think you missed the point bud haha. We all know that's already the case, the question was focused on who else has a big impact to this team.

I didn't miss the point. My answer still stands.

 

[CGI_Ram]

While Bradford is the essential piece - I think Brockers is the piece that the defense can't live without. Absorbing multiple blockers (at times, at least) so that others can get free and cause havoc - and getting enough tackles and sacks that if he's not carefully blocked the rival team is screwed. There's not really one player that would cripple the Rams if they lost him - but Brockers would be a far bigger loss than many would think at least.

Pretty good argument.

 

[CGI_Ram]

On offense, I was also thinking Jake Long - we saw what happened last year when Long went down, Saffold shifted to LT, no inside push, nowhere for Stacey to run. But that same thread of logic suggests that Safflold (speciifically at RG) could likewise be that Jenga piece. Or what about Stacey himself? The Rams on O were pretty worthless without him weeks 1-4 last year.

On defense, I don't know how you can go anywhere other than Quinn. His impact last year was nothing short of remarkable. And he stood head and shoulders above the rest of the Rams D in terms of how much impact he had.

Good point. I think the oline might be the right answer. Lose Long and the shuffling begins.

We need the shuffling to STOP!

 

[mr.stlouis]

I gotta go with Quinn. Yes JL is a very good choice, but Quinn is the best pass rusher in the league and really good against the run, too. Like CGI said, he's the best player on the team.

 

[CGI_Ram]

Greg Williams has been able to manufacture pressure without players like Quinn in the past, so I wouldn't say the team would crumble without him.

Fair enough. I don't think the team would crumble either, which WAS the purpose of the Jenga reference.

That said; I still see a degree of crumble (success impact) bigger than any other player not named Bradford.

Others have selected J Long, and that's a good choice too.