Edge Rusher???

[Akrasian]

Khalil Mack regardless of salary, compensation to get him or any other factor you want to pull out of a hat is an upgrade over every edge rusher in the NFL except perhaps one and that's Von Miller. Everybody else is a weak imitation of an edge rusher compared to Mack. Not sure why that concept is hard to understand.

And if he were free, of course every team would want him. Except it took two firsts to trade for him. It also took a larger contract than it took to sign Donald. Do you really think it impossible or even unlikely that giving him an even larger contract than Donald would upset AD? A larger contract being handed out along with picks traded without a holdout, while he had to holdout two training camps? Seriously? You think there is zero chance of that causing dissension? Ridiculous.

And of course the Rams wanted to trade him after one year, from the reports. Which would mean that since the Rams did not have the cap room to give him a large salary , either the contract would have had to have a massive amount of guaranteed salary in future years, or a huge signing bonus that would be accelerated in terms of cap hit as soon as he was traded after 2018. If the former, if anything happened to him he might not be able to be traded, certainly not for the two picks they gave up. If the latter, then assuming the same contract that Mack actually received the Rams would have a $27 million plus cap hit in 2019. That's 3/4 of the cap room Spotrac expects the Rams to have before signing a DT, two guards, a middle linebacker, a FS, and a dozen or so backups, gutting the team.

So yes, there were several big risks if the Rams got him. Do you seriously think the Rams would have considered such risks if they were happy with their edge rushers? You can post cute memes, but you apparently never bothered to consider the risks of obtaining Mack. Yes, if he were free any team would want him. In the real world, there were serious risks if they had gotten him, risks that NFL management actually has to consider. So yes - it is clear that Wade felt that the Rams' edge situation justified taking some big risks to obtain an upgrade. I'm not sure why that is so hard to comprehend.

 

[wolfdogg]

And if he were free, of course every team would want him. Except it took two firsts to trade for him. It also took a larger contract than it took to sign Donald. Do you really think it impossible or even unlikely that giving him an even larger contract than Donald would upset AD? A larger contract being handed out along with picks traded without a holdout, while he had to holdout two training camps? Seriously? You think there is zero chance of that causing dissension? Ridiculous.

And of course the Rams wanted to trade him after one year, from the reports. Which would mean that since the Rams did not have the cap room to give him a large salary , either the contract would have had to have a massive amount of guaranteed salary in future years, or a huge signing bonus that would be accelerated in terms of cap hit as soon as he was traded after 2018. If the former, if anything happened to him he might not be able to be traded, certainly not for the two picks they gave up. If the latter, then assuming the same contract that Mack actually received the Rams would have a $27 million plus cap hit in 2019. That's 3/4 of the cap room Spotrac expects the Rams to have before signing a DT, two guards, a middle linebacker, a FS, and a dozen or so backups, gutting the team.

So yes, there were several big risks if the Rams got him. Do you seriously think the Rams would have considered such risks if they were happy with their edge rushers? You can post cute memes, but you apparently never bothered to consider the risks of obtaining Mack. Yes, if he were free any team would want him. In the real world, there were serious risks if they had gotten him, risks that NFL management actually has to consider. So yes - it is clear that Wade felt that the Rams' edge situation justified taking some big risks to obtain an upgrade. I'm not sure why that is so hard to comprehend.

The rams were never going to offer mack a contract that was larger than Donalds. Besides the issues you mention, how feasible is it to simultaneously pay the 2 largest defensive contracts of all time?

 

[Mackeyser]

If snaed gets someone near von Miller's talent I'd fly to L.A. and give him the same knee surgery whit had after the chargers game.

I see what you did thar...hahahahahaha

 

[Akrasian]

The rams were never going to offer mack a contract that was larger than Donalds. Besides the issues you mention, how feasible is it to simultaneously pay the 2 largest defensive contracts of all time?

Well, we know they tried to trade for him. I don't think they are stupid enough to think they could do so without paying Mack. And by then it was known that Mack would want more than Donald. Maybe they could have tried just matching Donald's contract, but doubtful anything less.

 

[Mackeyser]

Obo is unlikely to be the answer. He has never actually had a real practice with the Rams or any NFL team. He is ineligible to practice for at least two more weeks. That's a lot of rust he will have in the best case scenario. Maybe he is fantastic yet fell so far to the Rams, and after 3 weeks of practice after coming off the pup he might be useful, but that is ambitious. Perhaps a very rare occurrence occurs, and by the playoffs he can be a meaningful contributor - but if the Rams have a shot at a useful vet in game shape, they'd be foolish not to explore getting him.

Disagree.

Obo can have an immediate impact as a DPR at first where it's more of a "see QB, kill QB" scenario.

I don't think Obo will be fully in to the defense until next year, tho.

Still, a few more sacks in key situations and this team becomes obnoxiously good.

And someone made an excellent point that the pressure has been even better than the sacks in many cases. If you look, we're hitting the QBs....a LOT. It's why QBs against us get less accurate as the game goes on. And no one has felt confident stepping up in the pocket.

 

[wolfdogg]

Well, we know they tried to trade for him. I don't think they are stupid enough to think they could do so without paying Mack. And by then it was known that Mack would want more than Donald. Maybe they could have tried just matching Donald's contract, but doubtful anything less.

I'd like to see what the rams were thinking of paying mack. I think his salary this year is about 14.5 mil so add the 8 the rams still have covers him this year. Next year though both Barron and Joyner would probably have to go in order to pay him. Not that that isnt doable and probably worth having mack but a couple big contracts would have to be off the books.

 

[Mackeyser]

I'd like to see what the rams were thinking of paying mack. I think his salary this year is about 14.5 mil so add the 8 the rams still have covers him this year. Next year though both Barron and Joyner would probably have to go in order to pay him. Not that that isnt doable and probably worth having mack but a couple big contracts would have to be off the books.

The plan was to trade for Khalil Mack, pay him a contract and then trade him after the year to recoup the draft picks.

It goes without saying that they'd structure it so that there wasn't a ton of dead money after the first year.

And if Mack were in this defense??? holy crap, teams would be lining up to pay the multiple firsts for him even with the contract.

But Mack would have very little effect on 2019 and beyond

 

[Akrasian]

Disagree.

Obo can have an immediate impact as a DPR at first where it's more of a "see QB, kill QB" scenario.

I don't think Obo will be fully in to the defense until next year, tho.

Still, a few more sacks in key situations and this team becomes obnoxiously good.

And someone made an excellent point that the pressure has been even better than the sacks in many cases. If you look, we're hitting the QBs....a LOT. It's why QBs against us get less accurate as the game goes on. And no one has felt confident stepping up in the pocket.

He may very well end up being good. But he's missed a bunch of time, and frankly, as much as some people here like him, he was not a dominating pass rusher in college - 8 sacks in 14 games last season, 9 sacks the year before. If he were dominating at such a highly prized skill, I doubt he would have fallen to pick 160. All NFL teams apparently felt he needed work - work that he has not gotten so far in his pro career. If he's healthy, hopefully next season he can contribute more than a little, the likely scenario for this season.

It would be foolish to count on Obo. They should at least make a good faith effort to get a vet edge rusher. All the more so, with Easley being hurt again.

 

[payote75]

Murphy is not answer, slow plodder. Hope is Obo to have the flexible BEND required to be a bonafide pass rusher. Must also have the strength. Landry was hope in draft this last year..... he has flexibility, but lite in cakes and injured. Franklin is situational, (hand down) may be iso like Barr was if he is stand up. As Gruden said, tough to find a pass rusher!!

Slow plodder??? Did you read the bio that someone posted on him above? The guy is a very good rusher and can even drop back to cover he is perfect and only 7 million a year locked up for 3 years. That would be a hell of a trade fact is both buffalo and Denver need o-line help maybe we could help there or buffalo and Denver probably would take a pick for Murphy or Ray but I prefer Murphy way more.

 

[PressureD41]

Trent Murphy would be a huge get, but i would not give up any OL pieces. Give up a draft pick(s)

 

[fanotodd]

I don't think the OLBs have been that bad, necessarily. Longacre is really the only guy I find disappointing because he was in this system last year, logged a lotta PT, and quite frankly, played better.

Ebukam has made several good plays holding the edge on run plays (usually not getting the actual tackle though) and has generated some pressure at times.

We knew this was gonna be the weakest area on the defense, but as others have mentioned, we're in great shape to draft or pick somebody up next year.

As for this season, if Oh-Oh can become a situational pass rusher and the others grow into this defense, we'll be ok.

 

[Malibu]

The rush is a problem, but the ball getting out quick doesn't help either. But the ball getting out quick means alot of short passes.

My thoughts on this issue is give Wade a couple more weeks to figure this out. After the next three games we should have a clear POV on JFM, if Obo is coming back and will have an impact. At that point Wade/McVay and Snead may try to trade for someone from a team not going anywhere.

Another point is we are the most complete team in the NFL. Our Offense will roll most teams with ease and we all know that. Remember all the teams we will play have tons of issues that we will exploit. We will get back GZ, Barron and Natson soon. That will help. We will add OBO maybe JFM and Ekubon starts to grow both are effectively new.

 

[Ramrocket]

If snaed gets someone near von Miller's talent I'd fly to L.A. and give him the same knee surgery whit had after the chargers game.

Ok, I'm drunk so it took me while to see what you're were getting at. For a moment, I thought you were an orthopaedic surgeon and you were donating your services to a fellow Rams fan.

Love it!!

 

[12intheBox]

Am I the only one seeing the Rams in the face of the opposing QB? The pass rush is working. Throws are being rushed. More importantly, our edge rushers are maintaining their edge - not allowing QBs to run out of the pocket.

It doesn’t have to be a name guy to be a pressure. They are getting after the QB.

 

[payote75]

Am I the only one seeing the Rams in the face of the opposing QB? The pass rush is working. Throws are being rushed. More importantly, our edge rushers are maintaining their edge - not allowing QBs to run out of the pocket.

It doesn’t have to be a name guy to be a pressure. They are getting after the QB.

I totally disagree the middle of the Rush is caving the pocket in but we have yet to even face an extremely mobile qb. We will see this week coming up. It's not that the linebackers are playing badly it's that there not playing good either I'm ok with one side being used to experiment and find a capable guy but on the other side there needs to be someone with a proven track record and again not a super star but a decent to very good edge rusher. I believe that's the missing piece to this team being complete. When JFM stripped cousins for that game winner if that was some what consistent not only would things like that happen more often but even consistent pressure would do exactly what cousins did step forward into the the gators jaw which has s our d-line.

 

[BonifayRam]

that doesn't sound so good hope he just needs some rest

Rams' Easley may require another knee surgery
Publish Date: September 30, 2018 10:50:39 AM
http://www.sportsxchange.com/tsxfiles/?page_id=211&max_colums=20&story_id=198282

Los Angeles Rams linebacker Dominique Easley could be in line for his fourth operation on his knee in seven years.
Easley recorded four tackles in the first three games of the season before sitting out Los Angeles' 38-31 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday. "We're looking into it and this poor guy has been through a whole lot," Rams coach Sean McVay said, via the team's website. "In terms of exactly what that means, you just look at how much his knee has been through, the amount of surgeries, the way that he has persevered through it. It might be something that if he has to get that thing cleaned up again, it will be a tough situation. We're still evaluating, but it's looking like it could be something that could keep him out for a while."

Easley moved from defensive tackle to outside linebacker this year after sitting out the entire 2017 due to a torn ACL sustained in August. The 6-foot-2, 273-pound Easley signed with Los Angeles as a free agent prior to the 2016 season, when he recorded 3.5 sacks in a situational role. A first-round pick of the New England Patriots in 2014 out of the University of Florida, the 26-year-old Easley has 64 tackles and 6.5 sacks in 41 career games

 

[pmil66]

Trading a day 3 pick next year for an edge rusher does make a lot of sense. Dante Fowler and Shane Ray are both upcoming free agents.

 

[hotanez]

Rams' Easley may require another knee surgery
Publish Date: September 30, 2018 10:50:39 AM
http://www.sportsxchange.com/tsxfiles/?page_id=211&max_colums=20&story_id=198282

Los Angeles Rams linebacker Dominique Easley could be in line for his fourth operation on his knee in seven years.
Easley recorded four tackles in the first three games of the season before sitting out Los Angeles' 38-31 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday. "We're looking into it and this poor guy has been through a whole lot," Rams coach Sean McVay said, via the team's website. "In terms of exactly what that means, you just look at how much his knee has been through, the amount of surgeries, the way that he has persevered through it. It might be something that if he has to get that thing cleaned up again, it will be a tough situation. We're still evaluating, but it's looking like it could be something that could keep him out for a while."

Easley moved from defensive tackle to outside linebacker this year after sitting out the entire 2017 due to a torn ACL sustained in August. The 6-foot-2, 273-pound Easley signed with Los Angeles as a free agent prior to the 2016 season, when he recorded 3.5 sacks in a situational role. A first-round pick of the New England Patriots in 2014 out of the University of Florida, the 26-year-old Easley has 64 tackles and 6.5 sacks in 41 career games

Wow, so doesn't sound like he will be back anytime soon

 

[Legatron4]

Or less if that's what it takes.

Lessee...

the only thing I haven't taken from one of my best friends who's a huge Denver fan is... Von Miller...

That's it. Mid-season trade for Von Miller.

Make it so, Snead.

Funny. I’m in the same boat. Best friend is a huge Broncos fan. He wouldn’t talk to me for a couple weeks if that happened.

 

[“Turbo set!”]

They should switch to a 4-3 and play Franklin-Myers every down.