Discuss: Weakest areas on the team?

[HitStick]

I was looking at this roster and on paper, the Rams look damn good. With that said, there are some areas of concern.

RB: Richardson/Pead/Stacy/Ganaway. I don't like the committee approach. I like having a #1 back and maybe a change of pace back. Having so many backs can ruin the 'sync' of the offense.

FB: Do we have one? I know Kendricks will line up there but what about when you have two TE sets and need a FB? The combo of Cook and Kendricks can be as good as Gronk and Hernandez were. Don't sacrifice having those two ready to catch passes. Get a FB.

WR: I am not worried about Givens or Austin. I'm worried about Pettis being ahead of Quick. Pettis is a great 4th WR. Maybe perfect in the Prohl role. He was studly on short yardage and redzone. Keep it at that. We need Quick to step up. He is sounding like he is catching on but there is only a month to go. Fix the drops.

Safety: McDonald is sounding like a good pick. Can Stewart move past missing tackles?

Well, that was a short list.

IMO we really need one of the running backs to 'run' away with the starting job.

We need Quick to 'catch' on. (okay, enough being punny)

We need a damn fullback.

And we need a legit deep safety who doesn't HAVE to make the big hit over the pass breakup.


In the end, I made this list to help myself put together a 'prospects to watch list' for the college football season to help my skillful mock drafts but as it sits today, I get to just sit and enjoy some college ball.


What do you think? Are there any positions that worry you?

 

[jjab360]

Pure FBs have become all but obsolete in the modern NFL. We don't need one.

The area that concerns me the most is that LG position. One weak link can bring down the entire offensive line.

 

[albefree69]

HitStick casting too wide a net:
I was looking at this roster and on paper, the Rams look damn good. With that said, there are some areas of concern.

Safety: McDonald is sounding like a good pick. Can Stewart move past missing tackles?

Of those four you listed I would only keep Safety as a weak area.

We have good running backs, we just don't know which ones they'll be. Like with our WRs, we we'll be letting go some talent here due to lack of space.

We don't need a FB.

We also have 5 good WRs that are only going to get better. As in our situation at RB, I think we are going to have to cut/PS a couple of decent WRs with some good potential in Helmick, Veltung and Johnson all looking pretty good. Knowing that it takes a while for most WRs to acclimate to the NFL, we might be letting go some good plaers due to, you got it, lack of space.

However, I would add the O-line as a real area of concern. Whoever loses the starting LG position will be the only sub I have any confidence in.

Anyway that's my opinion.

 

[mr.stlouis]

RT is a concern for me. I hope Saffold is the answer.

 

[Angry Ram]

Pure FBs have become all but obsolete in the modern NFL. We don't need one.

The area that concerns me the most is that LG position. One weak link can bring down the entire offensive line.

I disagree...the best OLs are from the same 5 games playing great as a group and not individually. The weak links can be overcome.

My weak areas are just lingering doubts...

All the hype on Jared Cook, I hope comes to fruition and not live to his "underachiever" label he had in Tennessee.

Will William Hayes build off last year or what happens to the DE depth if he has a down year?

Same w/ Jo-Lon. I really hope last year wasn't a fluke and he just "happened" to have a good year.

Are teams going to target away from Jackrabbit to avoid INTs and as a result...less chances for pick 6s?

Just shit like that...nothing that will deter the season just some things that happened last year might not happen this year and vice versa; positive or negative.

 

[jjab360]

Pure FBs have become all but obsolete in the modern NFL. We don't need one.

The area that concerns me the most is that LG position. One weak link can bring down the entire offensive line.

I disagree...the best OLs are from the same 5 games playing great as a group and not individually. The weak links can be overcome.

I agree that the top ingredient for a great O-line is continuity, but just one lineman who repeatedly gets dominated will hold back the entire offense. Just look at Ojinnaka last year for a good example.

 

[albefree69]

jab360 committing verbal assault:
Just look at Ojinnaka last year for a good example.

I think there's some kind of a law against reminding us of that. Or there should be. :itson:

 

[jjab360]

jab360 committing verbal assault:
Just look at Ojinnaka last year for a good example.

I think there's some kind of a law against reminding us of that. Or there should be. :itson:

It's just for the life of me I can't figure out why we kept bringing that guy back and giving him a starting spot. He was absolutely terrible...

 

[albefree69]

jjab360 relating one of life's little mysteries:
It's just for the life of me I can't figure out why we kept bringing that guy back and giving him a starting spot. He was absolutely terrible...

Couldn't agree more. What's even worse, is the thought that he was better than others. :ohno:

 

[Memento]

My main concern is the interior and depth of the offensive line. Can Wells stay healthy? Can Dahl bounce back from his injury and the bad year he had? Williams and Smith inspire very little confidence in me at left guard. Barksdale's decent, but Jones isn't ready, Washington looks iffy, Nsekhe looks raw, and Barnes is adequate at best.

Defensive tackle depth is the other concern of mine. Cudjo is having more back issues, Conrath hasn't done much in his pro career, and we've got nothing except undrafted rookies behind them. We better hope that Brockers and Langford stay healthy the entire year.

 

[HE WITH HORNS]

For me LG. Are either of those guys any good?

And the biggest question is depth. We have some good starters for a change, but if someone goes down, at almost any position, we might be in trouble folks.

 

[Lesson]

I don't FB is really a hole as Kendricks and Harkey can play there, while it also appears Fisher and Co. really don't plan on using a guy in a specific FB mold, which is why I believe Miller was released last season.

 

[CGI_Ram]

And the biggest question is depth. We have some good starters for a change, but if someone goes down, at almost any position, we might be in trouble folks.

This to me is a good reminder of the status of our rebuild.

As much talent as we've added... And there is reason to be excited... We are just 2yrs removed from the horrific roster Spagnuolo assembled.

Our depth is better now than then... But we have a LOT of unknowns in depth positions. I'm looking forward to the preseason to see where we are at.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

 

[brokeu91]

To me it's safety and interior offensive line. Our depth at O-line is not very good either and I'm a bit concerned about that as well.

 

[Selassie I]

Without actually watching a handful of regular season games... it's really impossible to get a feel for the weakest link at this time.

Having said that,,, my guess is the LG spot on the O-Line. Hopefully I'm way off on that.

 

[V3]

By far, my biggest concern is the O line. I haven't really said anything about it because I wanted to at least see them play a couple preseason games. That being said, I'm concerned about Long, Wells, and Saffold being able to stay healthy, I'm worried about Saffold being able to play on the right (it's not as easy as many think to just switch sides. Some don't do well on one side), Im not sold AT ALL on anyone that will play LG, and I thought Dahl didn't play that well last year.

People have just been assuming that its going to be great but I'm not as confident as others. And if its not better, Sam's going to have another tough time and the offense is going to have its issues again. But that's if the O line sucks again. We'll see.

I might put RB on the list but I think they'll be fine if the O line does its job. Other than that, I don't really have too many worries other than depth and health.

Oh yeah, one other thing, I do have some minor concerns that the rookie WRs won't be able to live up to all the high expectations. Very few rookie WRs ever put up big numbers.

 

[F. Mulder]

questionable OL depth

4th LBer

Safety

 

[Yamahopper]

To me just overall depth, maybe another draft and that will be a issues of the past.
But that said, a lot of the backups this season would have been starters and guys that get cut backups during the 15/65 years.

 

[ramsince62]

And the biggest question is depth. We have some good starters for a change, but if someone goes down, at almost any position, we might be in trouble folks.

This to me is a good reminder of the status of our rebuild.

As much talent as we've added... And there is reason to be excited... We are just 2yrs removed from the horrific roster Spagnuolo assembled.

Our depth is better now than then... But we have a LOT of unknowns in depth positions. I'm looking forward to the preseason to see where we are at.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Tapatalk 2

Exactly right....a young team with a bright and promising future. But let's be honest, this is only the 2nd year of the complete rebuild and we're easily more than a year, maybe even 2 ahead of schedule thanks to the RG trade.

History indicates that it normally takes between 4 and 5 years (depending upon the circumstances) to completely reassemble and prepare a team to "seriously" challenge for a conference title (think Dallas). It only takes looking back 2 years to see just how far we've come already. It's been remarkable accomplishment thanks to a gifted head coach, staff and front office.

This is almost story book like, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Extreme youth and inexperience rules the day, not to mention competing in the toughest division in the league.

2 first and a second round pick next year to help fill the void, solidification of the starters this season as they compete against the best in the conference, it doesn't get better than that.

If they make the playoff's this season it's a bonus. If not, then
wait until next year when they've filled in the gaps and make a serious run at the conference title in year 3.....now that's historic shyte. :zomg:

 

[fearsomefour]

Overall lack of depth, youth at WR, RB and S....these are the main reasons I think the Rams hover around .500 this year and make a major move next year. I could certainly be wrong if the Oline stays healthy and the young guys pick stuff up quickly.
As for RB I think a number one guy will emerge over time. Its not going to be a mix where four guys get 25% of the touches. Maybe 50%, 30%, 10%, 10%. Not so worried about LG as a stand alone. Either Williams or Smith can be solid. However, if Saffold gets hurt and Wells misses time AND LG struggles....now we have issues. But, depth in the NFL is not what it used to be. QB depth is dismal, as it is for most teams. We have one vet who doesnt seem to ever improve and a young guy whos only benefit so far has been an ability to escape the rush in preseason games.