Grade our draft so far.

[max]

I know its not a C grade draft.

And according to NFLC the Rams had the best draft in the NFC. So its gotta be a very good draft.

What I like about it is they got guys with toughness who will bring it on every play.

And the Donald pick is the difference maker when considering Seattle. I don't think they did enough to help their OL. And now how are they gonna block our DL? For some reason I feel very good about our chances of beating them up when the come to StL.

 

[iced]

Are you ever going to get over Watkins?

Love how people assume its because of Watkins that I hate the Robinson pick, despite saying multiple times I think Matthews is a better prospect. SMH

 

[Selassie I]

As I sit here on Saturday morning ... I'm very fucking satisfied with our picks. I don't have any doubt that each player taken so far will make a positive impact on the field this year.

My Grade for them ... FUCKING A

 

[-X-]

As long as we stay ahead of the chains I don't think we'll have many problems, but as soon as we fall behind I don't see any receiver on our team who can pull us out of it or who the opposition D has to respect. I also worry about 3rd and 10 I'd only trust Bailey to actually catch the football in such a situation, everyone else is an adventure even on a well thrown ball. Our O line on the other hand was already solid.

Defensively sacks and hurries are great, but if opposition QBs have WRs running wide open they're still going to complete a high percentage of passes regardless of the impact that Donald has. How many sacks/hurries does Donald actually contribute when that's already your D's strength?

If both players turn out to be the hall of famers Snead wanted to get from the draft then it will easily be an A++++ draft but today it still leaves me with the same worries I had going into the draft.

I think the idea is to avoid 3rd and long situations by assembling an offense that puts you into 2nd and five situations - and subsequently third and short situations. The key to that, obviously, is having a mauling ground game. Then of course the more success you have in that regard, the more flexibility you have on offense. Converting on third and ten is a rarity anyway unless you're already down by two scores late in the game.

Your point about not being able to climb out of a hole, offensively, is valid. This offense hasn't demonstrated that they're capable of doing that yet. But at the same time, this defense hasn't allowed many big deficits (sans that gross London game). Now it looks like we might even be more formidable. Donald is a key piece on this defense because there were quite a few double teams when we rushed 4 out of our base or nickel packages. If you have four beastly linemen, someone is getting single-teamed and that someone is now capable of getting consistent pressure (pick any one of them). Langford, despite being very, very solid ... was the weak link. When Brockers was double-teamed, Langford only sparingly took advantage of it. Donald, on the other hand .... Wow. And now with Williams on board with his amoeba defenses and psycho fronts, teams aren't really going to be able to see where the pressure is coming from. Now Joyner gives him even more opportunities, as he's a terrific rusher too.

*IF* these receivers mature the way we expect, then we should have very few problems winning games. And with 2 years under their belts (on average), this should be the year that it all comes together. If they're playing with a lead (completely possible), then they're going to be MUCH better than you think.

 

[Boffo97]

Love how people assume its because of Watkins that I hate the Robinson pick, despite saying multiple times I think Matthews is a better prospect. SMH

I hear you. I absolutely hear you.

But Matthews isn't a Ram either. Robinson is. So all we can do now is hope for the best, right?

 

[kurtfaulk]

.

i'm changing my grade.

i give them an A++++. four pluses for four great picks.

maybe it should be six pluses because robinson and donald deserve two pluses each.

.

 

[brokeu91]

A+, A+, A+, C
Overall: A

 

[iced]

I hear you. I absolutely hear you.

But Matthews isn't a Ram either. Robinson is. So all we can do now is hope for the best, right?

Yep - but until Robinson shows me otherwise, I hate the pick.

Completely ignoring the receiver position though just blows my mind.

 

[Boffo97]

Yep - but until Robinson shows me otherwise, I hate the pick.

Completely ignoring the receiver position though just blows my mind.

Well, wasn't it always going be Watkins, Evans or ignoring it?

The guys we have aren't BAD (and Tavon certainly isn't), just no #1s. And who knows, that might change. And there are some great guys coming out next year.

 

[iced]

Well, wasn't it always going be Watkins, Evans or ignoring it?

That's what some people said - I was never in that group. I said Watkins would be the best, but they should not come out of this draft without atleast one serious prospect toward the position.

My favorites were Watkins, Evans, Matthews, Beckham. I liked some later guys too like Montecrief, but I was really hoping for one of those 3 or worst case scenario, we'd end up with Marqise Lee.

The guys we have aren't BAD (and Tavon certainly isn't), just no #1s. And who knows, that might change. And there are some great guys coming out next year.

Tavon is the only one I see as starting qualities. Everyone else is a role player, not an every down starter (or a #1/#2 type).

When you consider the shut down corners this division, makes the position all that important.

The Hawks and Niners aren't just the best because of their run games and defense - if a team tries to take away the run, they can still throw it... They have weapons at receiver, we don't.

 

[Boffo97]

That's what some people said - I was never in that group. I said Watkins would be the best, but they should not come out of this draft without atleast one serious prospect toward the position.

My favorites were Watkins, Evans, Matthews, Beckham. I liked some later guys too like Montecrief, but I was really hoping for one of those 3 or worst case scenario, we'd end up with Marqise Lee.



Tavon is the only one I see as starting qualities. Everyone else is a role player, not an every down starter (or a #1/#2 type).

When you consider the shut down corners this division, makes the position all that important.

The Hawks and Niners aren't just the best because of their run games and defense - if a team tries to take away the run, they can still throw it... They have weapons at receiver, we don't.

Personally, I like Bailey... the others... we'll see. But it's not the end of the world. They SHOULD have a lot of time to get open now, right?

Fisher has to be wishing he called me though... I mean, I win the Super Bowl on Madden every year...

 

[MizzOU]

Greg Robinson - A+. Road grader. Future LT. Absolutely what they needed for the OL.

Aaron Donald - B. Luxury pick, BPA. Not the biggest fan with such huge needs in the secondary at CB/S and with how small he is. Could've traded down for a safety and extra picks.

Lamarcus Joyner - B. Playmaker but small with poor ball skills. Will fit in really nicely at the nickle. Moved up to get him when I thought they were going Jordan Matthews.

Tre Mason - C-. Small pinball RB that they already have. Would have preferred Ka'Deem Carey or Andre Williams both of which who can actually pass block if you HAD to go RB. Moncrief was here, another WR missed in lieu of a luxury pick.

USU safety - the fact I don't remember his name tells you all you need to know about what I think about the pick.

EJ Gaines - B+. Awesome in coverage, gets in done against the run. Just a little small. Love this pick!

Overall - B. Hit on some needs and completely whiffed on others imo. No WR in a draft deep with talented catchers will again see a struggling passing offense while the defense is getting a little smaller without adding a ton of speed in the process (Joyner, Gaines).

 

[Alan]

A-/A
I thought it trailed off a little after the first 3 rounds.

 

[Alan]

MizzOU being forgetful:
USU safety - the fact I don't remember his name tells you all you need to know about what I think about the pick.

It's easy to remember because it's your state abbreviation: MO

MO ALEXANDER

 

[Warner4Prez]

Still unsure as to the nature of the smallish DB picks. Consider me skeptical right now, but until I see how it plays out on the field I can't help but be hopeful.

 

[Mojo Ram]

Overall grade A
I think we nailed it for the most part. Bolstered the trenches with top notch physical talent, addressed the secondary.

SF had a very good draft too IMO.
AZ is apparently all in for 2014. Terrible draft.
I haven't really looked at what Seattle did.

 

[Rams and Gators]

My final draft review and a few thoughts on the roster that few will read and even less will care about:

I said that as long as we pick 1 of 4 players (Clowney, Matthews, Watkins, or Robinson) at number 2 I'd be happy. I've gone back and forth on Matthews, Watkins and Robinson so many times that I don't know if I'm coming or going. That said I love Robinson, made the pick back on the night of the Super Bowl in a 3 round mock and I stand by it.

He should be a beast game 1 at the OG position, whilst learning from coach Bou how be a Pro Bowl LT, if Bou can have a guy who was a waiver wire pick up and have him starting at LT 4 weeks later and turn him into a very good RT I can't wait to see what he can do with a number 2 overall pick.

Long / Robinson / Wells (hopefully Jones) / Saffold / Barksdale is so far away from Barksdale / Smith / Turner / Dahl / Richardson (or whatever other awful combination of awful OL you want to come up with) that it would be laughable if it wasn't so sad, by far the best O line Sam has ever played behind. Just please God can we have some luck with health.

Sam Bradford stats last season when not getting sacked 5+ times in games, 111 completions 173 attempts 64% completion percentage 1245 yards 7.2 yards per attempt 12 TDs 3 INTs 101.4 passer rating, I'm going out on a limb and saying if Sam can stay healthy he's going to have a good season behind that line.

Mason, damn that pick hurts, we essentially threw away a second round pick on Pead.

There was something that Fisher said last season that really annoyed me, we'd just had our asses handed to us by the 49ers, we'd run for less than 1 yard per carry, Sam got sacked 5+ times for the second time in two games and Fisher comes out and says "We have to get back to running the football" Good God man get with the time . Amazingly it worked, Sam has the best 3 game period of his life, and we remain competitive even with Clemens as QB. We now have a three headed beast of a rotation if we can't run the ball with Stacy, Cunningham and Mason behind that O line then no one can.

Now for the negative: our receivers, when your receivers lead the league in drops and you haven't had a receiver top 1,000 yards since 2007 you have a serious problem.

That said I really like the potential of Stedman Bailey, he does two things very well, gets open and catches the ball, I see no reason why he can't be our own Antonio Brown, I also see no reason why he can't be our own Chris Givens it's up to him, he'll be who he wants to be.

I also like Austin, I also think he can be as good as he wants to be, does he want to be "drop the ball" Austin from earlier in the season, or does he want to be "Lucas Oil" Austin, the guy who can take an inch and turn it into a mile?

In my opinion the success of this draft and the state of our O depends on how those two progress, if Bailey can put up 1,000 yards I'll forget Sammy Watkins in no time.

Defence:

WOW Donald is a beast, not the pick I would have made as I value need more highly than it probably should be, but again WOW, a joy to watch play, in the backfield every play, highly productive, loved watching him get into the backfield every play and watching the QB or RB go in the other direction and thinking "good luck doing that against Brockers, Long and Quinn." love the pick.

Last season our D was good, number 2 rushing D, third in sacks, over the last 12 games number 1 in turnovers per drive, excluding drives starting in our own red zone conceded over 21 points once in the last 12 games.

They were good, our pass D prevented them from being great, we attempted to address that with the addition of Joyner and EJ Gaines, even if we only added Gaines for the Tampa game he could be worth while . My main worry is did we do enough to address the FS position, Mo "The Janitor" Alexander is listed as a SS, C.B. Bryant is most likely a camp body and potential special teams contributor.

Our D will be very good next season, but whether they are elite and the success of this draft will depend (as with the O) on 2 guys not in this draft. Can the abolition of the "cover no one" scheme and the switch to Williams D turn Jenkins and Johnson from potential into quality cover corners?

Overall this could be an excellent draft, but as mentioned the quality of the draft depends on 4 guys Austin, Bailey, Jenkins and Johnson, we'll see how it all turns out.

 

[-X-]

Mason, damn that pick hurts, we essentially threw away a second round pick on Pead.

Stuff happens, and we can't unwind that clock. All you can do is take another shot at it. Plus, that pick was a gimme, so it should take some of the sting out. I guess this is Pead's final shot at becoming a rotational starter, so I hope he makes the best of it.

There was something that Fisher said last season that really annoyed me, we'd just had our asses handed to us by the 49ers, we'd run for less than 1 yard per carry, Sam got sacked 5+ times for the second time in two games and Fisher comes out and says "We have to get back to running the football" Good God man get with the time . Amazingly it worked, Sam has the best 3 game period of his life, and we remain competitive even with Clemens as QB. We now have a three headed beast of a rotation if we can't run the ball with Stacy, Cunningham and Mason behind that O line then no one can.

I don't know that Fisher was out of touch with his ball club when he said that, but then ... I don't know if you were being serious either. I think they overestimated what the rookie and 2nd year receivers would be able to do (sight adjustments and blitz recognition). But instead of being all McDaniels-esque about it, they reinvented the offense and figured out how to make it click. It wasn't only running the ball. Just a more balanced distribution.

Now for the negative: our receivers, when your receivers lead the league in drops and you haven't had a receiver top 1,000 yards since 2007 you have a serious problem.

True. Or you have many receivers (and tight-ends) capable of playing an integral role. It may not be a popular opinion round these parts, but I truly believe this is the year all of the receivers "get it." If nobody reaches 1000 yards, and several reach 700, then the difference is negligible to me. Just move the ball and score.

That said I really like the potential of Stedman Bailey, he does two things very well, gets open and catches the ball, I see no reason why he can't be our own Antonio Brown, I also see no reason why he can't be our own Chris Givens it's up to him, he'll be who he wants to be.

Agree. Clearly he was behind the curve, because he didn't get increased playing time until late in the season. He should step up a lot this year.

I also like Austin, I also think he can be as good as he wants to be, does he want to be "drop the ball" Austin from earlier in the season, or does he want to be "Lucas Oil" Austin, the guy who can take an inch and turn it into a mile?

If you'll recall, the 2011 Rams' receivers had a significant case of the dropsies early on too. Kendricks, for as renowned as he was at catching the ball, was one of our biggest offenders back then. Now he's a steady reliable target. Rookie nerves is a real thing, and it goes away too.

WOW Donald is a beast, not the pick I would have made as I value need more highly than it probably should be, but again WOW, a joy to watch play, in the backfield every play, highly productive, loved watching him get into the backfield every play and watching the QB or RB go in the other direction and thinking "good luck doing that against Brockers, Long and Quinn." love the pick.

Final piece of the puzzle. It can't be overstated how important it is to be able to successfully rush four.

 

[OC--LeftCoast]

Final piece of the puzzle. It can't be overstated how important it is to be able to successfully rush four.

.
No it can't

 

[OnceARam]

Love how people assume its because of Watkins that I hate the Robinson pick, despite saying multiple times I think Matthews is a better prospect. SMH

I'm just funning with you bro. But you know that already. Let's cross our fingers our WR's and Robinson develop.