Biggest needs on the team?

[rams24/7]

Give your top 5 & give a little explanation.

Here's mine:

1. OG (Williams is slightly better than Ojinaka, which isn't saying much. Dahl is in twilight of career.)
2. FS (Ball-hawking FS could be missing piece to D. A vet on back end would be a bonus.)
3. OT (Long & Barksdale are good, but RT could be upgraded & we need a swing T in 2014)
4. NB (Cort isn't an effective NB & makes too much. I'd love a fast, physical guy who can play all over.)
5. DT (I'm not in the cut Langford camp, but if our DL is missing anything its a run stuffing DT.)

(I'm all for drafting Evans. WR as a unit is not the weakest position on the team, but it needs development. We haven't had a big, strong physical target since... since...)

 

[BigHornRAMM]

voted for a CB, tired of watching teams pick our secondary apart. I want the legion of boom st Louis style

 

[BonifayRam]

Early March 2014 Ram Releases
CB Cortland Finnegan (savings somewhere between $4 to $7 million)
OC Scott Wells (savings of 4.5 mil.)
OG Harvey Dahl (saving 4.0 mil.)

Use this 12.5 mil to 15.5 mil in Ram cap savings to purchase UFA's i.e. :
#1 priority a veteran leader in the secondary either a CB or safety
#2 a young vet OG
#3- veteran class act leader WR .

After the releases the Ram top needs should be:
#1-OT (Replace OT Saffold)
#2- Corner back (Nickel Back)
#3- Safety
#4- QB (replace Kelley Clemens)
#5- OG/OT (Replace two OL'ers Dahl & Wells)

 

[blackbart]

I think our secondary is the biggest problem and would prefer to stay with the youth movement a big 6' or taller CB (there are a couple coming out) and a safety in the first 3 rounds

Resign Saffold to play Gaurd pay him what Dahl was getting and see if Dahl will restructure as a back up if not let him go

I don't know what the coaches think about the other OL guys but Jones should be expected to step in at the other guard spot
Long Jones Barnes Saffold Barksdale

DT again stay with the youth movement and find that big run stuffer depth with the chance to grow with the team

Back up QB not as big of a deal depending on what happens with Davis, is he or is he not a player??

 

[max]

Add a great CB and our defense would be totally transformed, and the effect would vibrate through the STs and offense.

I hope a great CB surfaces in this draft. It could happen. Revis wasn't considered an elite prospect months before the draft. Heck, he went 14 overall. Snead has got to find a guy.

 

[ChrisW]

Add a great CB and our defense would be totally transformed, and the effect would vibrate through the STs and offense.

I hope a great CB surfaces in this draft. It could happen. Revis wasn't considered an elite prospect months before the draft. Heck, he went 14 overall. Snead has got to find a guy.

I'm looking for Dennard to separate himself as the top guy. I hope he runs a good 40 in the combine. 4.47 or so would be out of this world.

 

[F. Mulder]

They are obviously weak and unproven in the secondary. I've always felt a top-flight corner or two solid corners can cover for weaker Safeties than visa-versa. I haven't given up on Jenkins and like Johnson but I've cut bait with Finnegan.

Get a talented CB in there and you will have some combo of your top 3 CBs playing most of the time with the number of teams running 3-4 WR sets. McDonald strikes me as a Box Safety and they need someone who can cover ground on the back end but, like I said, that can be taken care of with solid CBs and a good pass rush. McCleod, to me, should be a jack-of-all-trades. Dime back and backup Safety. Stewart managed to play himself off the roster and Gio will be gone. The kid from Miami may have the skill set but he lacks experience and confidence at this point which leads to grabbing and guessing at this point. Pointer will not be back next year.

CB/OL!!

 

[LosAngelesRams]

Early March 2014 Ram Releases
CB Cortland Finnegan (savings somewhere between $4 to $7 million)
OC Scott Wells (savings of 4.5 mil.)
OG Harvey Dahl (saving 4.0 mil.)

Use this 12.5 mil to 15.5 mil in Ram cap savings to purchase UFA's i.e. :
#1 priority a veteran leader in the secondary either a CB or safety
#2 a young vet OG
#3- veteran class act leader WR .

After the releases the Ram top needs should be:
#1-OT (Replace OT Saffold)
#2- Corner back (Nickel Back)
#3- Safety
#4- QB (replace Kelley Clemens)
#5- OG/OT (Replace two OL'ers Dahl & Wells)

This pretty much.

 

[rams24/7]

This pretty much.

I can understand why you guys want a RT (Matthews would be nice), but I think Barksdale is a decent starter if we don't seek a RT in the draft/FA. Whereas we are much weaker at other positions with the players we have now. Is Barksdale upgradable? Sure, but I'd rather add 2 new guards, a nickelback, and a FS before worrying about RT. Imo RT is one of the positions we could put off for a year, because our priorities need to be directed elsewhere. Just my opinion.

 

[LosAngelesRams]

I can understand why you guys want a RT (Matthews would be nice), but I think Barksdale is a decent starter if we don't seek a RT in the draft/FA. Whereas we are much weaker at other positions with the players we have now. Is Barksdale upgradable? Sure, but I'd rather add 2 new guards, a nickelback, and a FS before worrying about RT. Imo RT is one of the positions we could put off for a year, because our priorities need to be directed elsewhere. Just my opinion.

Barksdale is good but if we have a chance to grab a very talented tackle I think we should grab him (Jake) and plug Barksdale into a G position the same way we did Saffold. I just don't see Saffold resigning with us if he gets offered LT money from another team during FA. I don't think there are any G, CB, FS's that are projected to be picked @ #2 (if that's were we are) or even in the top 10 from a lot of the mocks I've been reading(who knows though, things always change closer to the draft). If we were to trade down then that's a different story I would re-evaluate my selections biased on the picks we get but @ #2 Jake is the safest bet, imo. Our OL needs to be solidified to build a dominate offence.

 

[Ram_of_Old]

FS or Corner is our biggest need. We need depth. Next we need a quality backup for Sam.

 

[BonifayRam]

I can understand why you guys want a RT (Matthews would be nice), but I think Barksdale is a decent starter if we don't seek a RT in the draft/FA. Whereas we are much weaker at other positions with the players we have now. Is Barksdale upgradable? Sure, but I'd rather add 2 new guards, a nickelback, and a FS before worrying about RT. Imo RT is one of the positions we could put off for a year, because our priorities need to be directed elsewhere. Just my opinion.

Our 2013 starting Tackle Saffold will be a UFA'cy in a few months & this same time next year Tackle Joe Barksdale will join Saffold as a UFA. You could also add in that its a good bet that the three interior starting OL'ers (OT/OG Williams/OG Dahl/OC Wells) will be released or not resigned due to very high 2014 cap hits. Oh by the way I just named :slap: five of the Rams top 6 Ol'ers on this Ram team currently.

I can't understand why ROD'mers would not want & desire top talent Tackles to keep Bradford a pocket passer who has been injured 3 of his last five seasons in a comfort zone plus I can not understand why anyone who is a Ram fan let a very average 2013 OL degrade into the depths of despair! Just saying :wink:

 

[Alan]

#1 FS
#2 CB
#3 OT/OG

I put free safety first because I believe (with absolutely no proof) that the reason Fisher is playing the infamous "cover 0" is due to our lack of a decent FS who can play centerfield. If we had a decent FS to limit the potential damage of a long pass Fisher might play a lot more man coverage.

Or not.

I'll say this though, if our coverage scheme doesn't change it won't much matter who we have playing FS or CB.

 

[Yamahopper]

CB
Safety.

Those were big needs last draft.
Now the're a glaring sink hole of sorrow.
Rams aren't going to win consistently until these holes are filled. Developmental guys won't work. Rams need top of the draft day one starters or vet FA's brought in.

 

[CGI_Ram]

I'm going offensive line early and often. Protect Sam. Give the WR time. Open holes for Stacy. <-- offense is fixed!

I believe we can do a lot for our defense just changing the coordinator's scheme. We've already put a lot of premium talent here... Someone's got to make it function worthy of the investment!

Get a couple CB's and safety mid/late.

Target oline and DB in FA if the right guy surfaces.

 

[rams24/7]

Our 2013 starting Tackle Saffold will be a UFA'cy in a few months & this same time next year Tackle Joe Barksdale will join Saffold as a UFA. You could also add in that its a good bet that the three interior starting OL'ers (OT/OG Williams/OG Dahl/OC Wells) will be released or not resigned due to very high 2014 cap hits. Oh by the way I just named :slap: five of the Rams top 6 Ol'ers on this Ram team currently.

I can't understand why ROD'mers would not want & desire top talent Tackles to keep Bradford a pocket passer who has been injured 3 of his last five seasons in a comfort zone plus I can not understand why anyone who is a Ram fan let a very average 2013 OL degrade into the depths of despair! Just saying :wink:

Barksdale is under contract for 2014 at $645,000

 

[BonifayRam]

Barksdale is under contract for 2014 at $645,000

Our 2013 starting Tackle Saffold will be a UFA'cy in a few months & this same time next year Tackle Joe Barksdale will join Saffold as a UFA. Y

I should have said it a little different easy to miss but "same time next yr" (meaning one yr from when Saffold goes UFA) "OT Barksdale will join him".

Yes you are correct we have Joe for just one more season. Guess the point I was hoping to make is with this in mind would you think that loosing your two starting young veteran ORT's ion back to back yrs .....& leaving a sometimes shaky & sometimes injured Jake Long all alone .....that it would be a very smart thing to replace them NOW .....?

OT's that have started in the NFL that are good ones like Saffold & Barksdale will demand big $$$ & cap hits. Drafting OT's instead lowers the demand greatly on the cap....purchasing even the best OT's from UFA like Jake Long are not cheap nor are they always solid as a rock as we have seen with Jake in a half dozen games this season.

You & I come from different ends on this matter and see it differently. I not all that enamored with Jake Mathews rams24/7 I could just as well be happy with a Kouandjio, Erving, Lewan, Ogbuchi or Richardson but I want two of them! Just trying to help the understanding here!

 

[BigHornRAMM]

I'm going offensive line early and often. Protect Sam. Give the WR time. Open holes for Stacy. <-- offense is fixed!

I believe we can do a lot for our defense just changing the coordinator's scheme. We've already put a lot of premium talent here... Someone's got to make it function worthy of the investment!

Get a couple CB's and safety mid/late.

Target oline and DB in FA if the right guy surfaces.

Exactly, O-line isnt a sexy draft pick but it pays off for the reasons you listed.

 

[OnceARam]

Early March 2014 Ram Releases
CB Cortland Finnegan (savings somewhere between $4 to $7 million)
OC Scott Wells (savings of 4.5 mil.)
OG Harvey Dahl (saving 4.0 mil.)

Use this 12.5 mil to 15.5 mil in Ram cap savings to purchase UFA's i.e. :
#1 priority a veteran leader in the secondary either a CB or safety
#2 a young vet OG
#3- veteran class act leader WR .

After the releases the Ram top needs should be:
#1-OT (Replace OT Saffold)
#2- Corner back (Nickel Back)
#3- Safety
#4- QB (replace Kelley Clemens)
#5- OG/OT (Replace two OL'ers Dahl & Wells)

Why don't you just resign Finnegan to a lesser deal?

 

[OnceARam]

Give your top 5 & give a little explanation.

Here's mine:

1. OG (Williams is slightly better than Ojinaka, which isn't saying much. Dahl is in twilight of career.)
2. FS (Ball-hawking FS could be missing piece to D. A vet on back end would be a bonus.)
3. OT (Long & Barksdale are good, but RT could be upgraded & we need a swing T in 2014)
4. NB (Cort isn't an effective NB & makes too much. I'd love a fast, physical guy who can play all over.)
5. DT (I'm not in the cut Langford camp, but if our DL is missing anything its a run stuffing DT.)

(I'm all for drafting Evans. WR as a unit is not the weakest position on the team, but it needs development. We haven't had a big, strong physical target since... since...)

I noticed QB wasn't one of your options, only backup QB. Is this because you are assuming that Bradford is the answer or because you don't want to bring up the topic? Just asking.