2016 RAMS

[wenatcheeram]

Soooo after absorbing this offseason so far these are my thoughts for the season. Defense first. If Quinn is 90% of what he was. If Donald and brockerd improve slightly. If Coples is more comfotable in 4-3 and shows slight improvement. Easly what abargsin hopefully. Ogletree in the middle. Upgrade imo. Barron the guided missile at linebacker. Tj Mo msybe Whitner if signed. Tru joyner ej. All fast and hitters. So defensively a lot of ifs but easily obtainable but slight improvement here and this team is playoff bound. The offense cannot be worse than last year. But that's another post.rWe are on our way this year imo. Drinkin good koolaid right now!

 

[Legatron4]

According to your grammar you're drinking something else too.

Agree though. Defense should be awesome this year.

 

[fearsomefour]

The questions for me on D are Ogletree at MLB and Coples at DE....and some at CB, no so much much worried about that. I am excited about Coples. I love Long as much as the next guy, but, having a guy with big potential who should be able to stay on the field and complete the DE rotation will be nice.
Ogletree taking on blocks in the middle is a concern.
Offense....too many to list.

 

[DaveFan'51]

I just can't wait to see how the Team shapes up after OTA's and Pre-Season! Everything looks pretty good going in, on paper. Now let's see how it looks on the Field!

 

[den-the-coach]

IMO, the key this year is the secondary and how they adjust with the losing the likes of Janoris Jenkins and Rodney McLeod. E.J. Gaines will he recover fully from his foot injury and who will be the safeties come the eve of September the 12th?

Will T.J. McDonald be the cover safety and Maurice Alexander be the other or will Cody Davis or Christian Bryant finally get their chance with the starting unit? UDFA Brian Randolph not withstanding.

Plus the depth at CB has me concerned as I'm not sold on Coty Sensabaugh and last season Marcus Roberson seem to struggle as well did the unit unit Trumiane Johnson came back from injury. So defensive back coaches Dennard Wilson and Brandon Fisher have their work cut out for them come training camp.

 

[Hey Man]

The questions for me on D are Ogletree at MLB and Coples at DE....and some at CB, no so much much worried about that. I am excited about Coples. I love Long as much as the next guy, but, having a guy with big potential who should be able to stay on the field and complete the DE rotation will be nice.
Ogletree taking on blocks in the middle is a concern.
Offense....too many to list.

I question Tree at MLB also, why? Just to me doesn't seem to me from what I have seen like the prototypical MLB. Just seems to lanky and not the stocky, thick body type that seems to play that position, which to me may not be able to hold up against the constant pounding of pulling guards and lineman for the next coming years. I get the game is now more based on the passing game but if there is a weakness inside middle the other teams will run more. I thought Tree did very good at outside covering TE and the mobile QBs of the league. Now Williams And Fish see something that will work with him in the middle and I am hoping for the best. I seem to recall that Tree did have the most tackles on the team the year before he got hurt and before that it was JL55.
GO Rams

 

[Србија]

The questions for me on D are Ogletree at MLB and Coples at DE....and some at CB, no so much much worried about that. I am excited about Coples. I love Long as much as the next guy, but, having a guy with big potential who should be able to stay on the field and complete the DE rotation will be nice.
Ogletree taking on blocks in the middle is a concern.
Offense....too many to list.

I agree for Olgetree. Sheld block may be a problem. He is side 2 side type with superb speed. Will see.
Coples will play at SDE, which is mean contain. Pass rush and pressure will make Donald and quin + DB and LB.
Anything more from Coples will be pure benefit.

 

[DaveFan'51]

I agree for Olgetree. Sheld block may be a problem. He is side 2 side type with superb speed. Will see.
Coples will play at SDE, which is mean contain. Pass rush and pressure will make Donald and quin + DB and LB.
Anything more from Coples will be pure benefit.

I think Coples needs to be able to do a lot more than just 'contain' from the DE position! Chris long didn't just contain from that position!!

 

[BonifayRam]

The questions for me on D are Ogletree at MLB and Coples at DE....and some at CB, no so much much worried about that. I am excited about Coples. I love Long as much as the next guy, but, having a guy with big potential who should be able to stay on the field and complete the DE rotation will be nice.
Ogletree taking on blocks in the middle is a concern.
Offense....too many to list.

If this DL is what we think it should be ......then Tree might not be a high on the "Take Out" lists of priorities for our opponents. If Brockers/Quinn/Donald/Hayes remain healthy & Coples/Sims/Westbrook/Easley can be rotated in with regularity then most offenses are going to expend a ton of offensive resources just try to neutralize the Rams front four with Tree as an afterthought.

For me, if I just center in on JL & Tree's LB'ing play making skills alone ...I would have to say that the loss of JL & the insertion of Tree is no loss but big improvement for that one MLB'ing position. Now the thinking side will take a hit for sure but the ground Tree can cover in comparison to what JL has been limited too the last few yrs....No concerns here. But JL never made it through blocks on a regular basis anyway.

Side Note here I was watching some Ram tubes where some talking head was showing how well JL played & that the Rams were going to miss his play in 2016 .....but most of these great plays being used as an example just happen to be when James Hall was our starting DE James Hall retired 5 yr ago.)

Barron has a uncanny skill to beat those big blockers head up. I would have loved to been in the review film room after the season ended with Fisher & Gregg & Frank Bush & to see how they reacted in amazement to just see how well the skinny safety did in place of Tree...sure paid big dividends for Barron in his paycheck. One needs to remember this will be Barron's first OTA's/TC & Pre season where he will actually get practice time & reps playing first team WSLB'er. Do you think he will not be even better.

I mentioned this yesterday in one of my posts that SSLB'er Akeem Ayers might also figure here @ MLB'er too. AA is a LB'er who does take on those tough blocks very well. After the Tree injury, AA's time on the field & tackles increased even amongst the Nickles & Dimes. Not sure on this but AA & Tree could be working much more closer together as a Duo in the interior than we have thought. AA is by far our most experienced LB'er with 75 NFL games under his belt. Again I just do not have any concerns myself. Add in the fact that we could also see our biggest hardest hitting & tackling safeties MO & TJ playing both safety positions.......:heh:.

Questions with Coples @ DE have merit. But Coples for the first time since 2012 is not expected to be a starter. IMO Coples( as posted about before) would appear to here due to the back injury to Quinn. Because Westbrook then Longacre have the back up spot behind William Hayes's LDE post fully covered. If Quick was to go down again:notsure: both Sims & Coples would have to tag team that RDE post. Sims did not fair well there last season as a full time RDE after Quinn went down. Sims failed to get pressure on the QB plain & simple for what ever reasons last season:huh:. Coples will be readied mostly as a pass rusher with some interior pass rush plays. Don't get me wrong here on Sims, he continues to play the run good as well in assisting filling the void left by Chris long in the locker room.

 

[Србија]

I think Coples needs to be able to do a lot more than just 'contain' from the DE position! Chris long didn't just contain from that position!!

Coples is not Long
It will be great if he will be such a good player, like Long was
But I doubt it.

 

[fearsomefour]

For me, if I just center in on JL & Tree's LB'ing play making skills

I don't disagree with this really.
There were plenty of times that JL had trouble getting off of blocks as well. It is a skill and guys that consistently take on blockers, shed them and make plays are rare....just like with all skills.
One thing for sure, the athleticism on this D is going to be nuts.

 

[RamWoodie]

I willing to simply "hold the phone" for now. I expect a very good to great defense. The rest...is still in the works...

 

[BonifayRam]

I think Coples needs to be able to do a lot more than just 'contain' from the DE position! Chris long didn't just contain from that position!!

Yes Long proved to be very good at applying pressure & containing the left side edge. Hayes while much better against the run the last two seasons does not have the skills, pass rush wise that CL displayed as a Ram since 2008. Hayes got 3 sacks late last season. Two against the same TE & the other against a WR. Hayes only got 2 .5 sacks up against ORT's. Rams do have three DL'ers who might be able to help our lone pass rushing DE Rob Quinn. Westbrook/ Coples & now Easley (yes Easley).

Coples coming out of college @ only 21 was 6-6 284 pounds! Now 25 yrs old he should have filled out completely & I would be shocked if he was under 300 pounds going into TC. Most all the Rams depth charts have him backing up Hayes which would be highly reasonable. It has been brought out before his consistent play in college came when in his junior year he was primarily a 3-technique defensive tackle. Right now Coples looks like a younger stronger bigger more Eugene Sims in skill set not what we really need currently.

Another thing to keep in the back of our minds that besides playing DT Coples slid in and played 1-technique many times. So Coples might figure in all over this Ram front depending on just how quick & how much weight he will be carrying. I just wonder how much DE will he see with already established Ram DE's here like Westbrook-Sims-Longacre. Sad thing here for the Rams is Coples has never displayed elite explosiveness. He is not an sack artist.

The most recent Ram defensive addition just happens to be what Coples is not. Easley is explosive & his best college season came playing DE @ UF. He has shown the ability to disrupt the backfield with superb get-off; rare first-step quickness, Easley is able to use hands & feet at same time to pressure the quarterback & fits perfect in this Gregg Williams aggressive scheme. It would not surprise me if we see Easley working with Robert Quinn either @ that RDE spot. With Coples getting much more action inside. No real way to tell what going to be cooked up around here this TC.

I would plan on taking a load off Quinn early in the season & using this talent rich with new ingredients keeping our loan know pass rushing DE fresh & fully healthy at all costs. Same to be said about Easley too...will cause our opponents to be very uneasy wondering when we will release the new Pacific Sack Monsters.

 

[DaveFan'51]

It would not surprise me if we see Easley working with Robert Quinn either @ that RDE spot.

So what happens to Sims in this scenario!? He's been the one backing-up Quinn. Do the Rams cut him or what!?!

 

[BonifayRam]

So what happens to Sims in this scenario!? He's been the one backing-up Quinn. Do the Rams cut him or what!?!

I sure do not see a Eugene Sims release coming anytime soon. Fisher & Gregg love his playing mind set! Sims has always played his best coming off the bench. They must keep him fresh. I also have this high opinion that he is also an excellent positive locker room :lifting: policer. With JL & CL departed I am speculating his role in that area will increase now. Sims is now in his 30's & has been retained since Fisher arrived. Sims is the Rams 6th best DL'er. He plays two positions well (off the bench). In Gregg's 4 man front the two posts are the Donald & Quinn posts. Sims also plays on the nose when Gregg moves into a 3-2-6 defense. IMO sims is very good as a pass rusher inside.

A major problem coming about mid season last yr was the fact Sims was his playing time increased dramatically when Quinn went out. Sims production in pressuring the QB fell off the charts. Almost non existence. If Quinn continues to have back issues I am sure that Gregg now has a battle plan where he will use Westbrooks/ Coples/ Easley in that RDE post.

It's way too early but I could see this final 9 player DL cadre when the season begins.

RDE-Quinn/Sims/Westbrook
DT-Donald/Easley
NT-Brockers/Tricant-Pasat
LDE-Hayes/Coples

 

[DaveFan'51]

I sure do not see a Eugene Sims release coming anytime soon. Fisher & Gregg love his playing mind set! Sims has always played his best coming off the bench. They must keep him fresh. I also have this high opinion that he is also an excellent positive locker room :lifting: policer. With JL & CL departed I am speculating his role in that area will increase now. Sims is now in his 30's & has been retained since Fisher arrived. Sims is the Rams 6th best DL'er. He plays two positions well (off the bench). In Gregg's 4 man front the two posts are the Donald & Quinn posts. Sims also plays on the nose when Gregg moves into a 3-2-6 defense. IMO sims is very good as a pass rusher inside.

A major problem coming about mid season last yr was the fact Sims was his playing time increased dramatically when Quinn went out. Sims production in pressuring the QB fell off the charts. Almost non existence. If Quinn continues to have back issues I am sure that Gregg now has a battle plan where he will use Westbrooks/ Coples/ Easley in that RDE post.

It's way too early but I could see this final 9 player DL cadre when the season begins.

RDE-Quinn/Sims/Westbrook
DT-Donald/Easley
NT-Brockers/Tricant-Pasat
LDE-Hayes/Coples

I foresee a real Battle for that 9th D-Line spot between Westbrooks, Longacre, and Seau!! It's terrible having these kind of depth problems on the D-Line!!

 

[Wolfecola]

IMO, the key this year is the secondary and how they adjust with the losing the likes of Janoris Jenkins and Rodney McLeod. E.J. Gaines will he recover fully from his foot injury and who will be the safeties come the eve of September the 12th?

Will T.J. McDonald be the cover safety and Maurice Alexander be the other or will Cody Davis or Christian Bryant finally get their chance with the starting unit? UDFA Brian Randolph not withstanding.

Plus the depth at CB has me concerned as I'm not sold on Coty Sensabaugh and last season Marcus Roberson seem to struggle as well did the unit unit Trumiane Johnson came back from injury. So defensive back coaches Dennard Wilson and Brandon Fisher have their work cut out for them come training camp.

I said it when it happened and I agree with your assessment; I truly believe losing McLeod will be a huge hit for this defense. Unless one of our UDFA's steps up into a starting role, I don't see anyone currently on the roster to replace him.. and that includes potential signings in Whitner and Goldson. I hope I'm wrong.

I don't get the Sensabaugh signing. Dude is strictly a slot corner. Is that not who Joyner is supposed to be? Is Joyner our new FS? Wouldn't mind seeing that.

Our front seven should be nasty, though. That defensive line... nobody in the league comes close imo. People sleep on Hayes, but I'm glad we re-signed him.

 

[den-the-coach]

I don't get the Sensabaugh signing. Dude is strictly a slot corner. Is that not who Joyner is supposed to be? Is Joyner our new FS? Wouldn't mind seeing that.

Williams coached Sensabaugh when he was with the Titans so there must be something he likes besides it being a smooth transition with the defensive terminology.

 

[BonifayRam]

Williams coached Sensabaugh when he was with the Titans so there must be something he likes besides it being a smooth transition with the defensive terminology.

From all I know about Coty is he is a consistent all around decent DB. He was easy to coach & would follow through on his instructions given to him. Very tentative to direction. He is also a NON management problem.

I said it when it happened and I agree with your assessment; I truly believe losing McLeod will be a huge hit for this defense. Unless one of our UDFA's steps up into a starting role, I don't see anyone currently on the roster to replace him.. and that includes potential signings in Whitner and Goldson. I hope I'm wrong.I don't get the Sensabaugh signing. Dude is strictly a slot corner. Is that not who Joyner is supposed to be? Is Joyner our new FS? Wouldn't mind seeing that.

Rod Mcleod was the reserve Nickle-Back when needed the last two seasons. The loss of Rodney created a spot on the roster for a back up Nickle or Dime corner. Rams also lost a outside corner in JJ, EJ Gaines who is pencilled to start is returning from IR/Surgery thus leaving only Marcus Roberson as a known corner with any expereince. Coty can fill the roster spot that JJ left open where Roberson will now step up as the first reserve or 3rd corner with Coty being the 2nd reserve corner or 4th outside corner. One signing fixed two roster spots. Makes perfect sense to me. Late last season I discovered that Joyner would at times exchanged placed with Rodney. I never heard any announcers catch this. This would happen when a tall large WR would be in the slot. Joyner would usually be told by JL to take deep safety. So Joyner has some small bit of time back there @ FS. But Joyner is this teams starting Nickle. The only other corner worth mentioning here is bad boy Troy Hill who is an outside corner. I do not have any concerns at safety.

 

[Wolfecola]

I do not have any concerns at safety.

We might have filled the spots left vacant by McLeod's departure, but I don't agree that the quality of replacement is as good as the former product. McLeod has played in over 95% of all defensive snaps since the beginning of the 2013 season. Nobody else on our team has that level of experience.

Our only experienced safeties are Cody Davis, TJ McDonald and Mo Alexander. That concerns me.